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ILWU Back to Work on Sunday in Oakland
Richard Mead, President of ILWU local 10 (Oakland) spent about an hour and a half this morning with several reporters. We were from KQED, AP and SF-IMC. This 9 min video is about the first day back after the lockout.
This story is a bit of background for the video here.
The port of Oakland was back in partial operation this morning. Even with a larger number of workers available then usual for a Sunday, the two day lockout had created a huge backlog of work. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has crews to operate up to 18 of the huge cranes to load and unload container ships. This morning there were 7 in operation.
There are two types of ILWU workers at the port. Those who work out of the union hall and "steadymen", that report directly to the shipping companies. The most experienced crane operators are in the latter category. Most have over 10 years of experience.
The lockout that started on Friday 9/27 upset this arrangement. To add fuel to this upset, on Saturday management at one company, Maersk, started operating cranes to put the lids on the cargo holds of a ship being loaded. Union members rushed in to stop this. Cops were called. There were no arrests and Maersk agreed to keep management off the cranes. ILWU agreed not to trespass. At a meeting on Saturday, ILWU workers decided that everyone would report to the union hall on Sunday. Most of the crane operators exercised their right to sign up for other jobs. As a result not all crane jobs were filled, and two or three companies turned away all workers.
The video fills in the details, including showing a crane in operation.
The port of Oakland was back in partial operation this morning. Even with a larger number of workers available then usual for a Sunday, the two day lockout had created a huge backlog of work. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has crews to operate up to 18 of the huge cranes to load and unload container ships. This morning there were 7 in operation.
There are two types of ILWU workers at the port. Those who work out of the union hall and "steadymen", that report directly to the shipping companies. The most experienced crane operators are in the latter category. Most have over 10 years of experience.
The lockout that started on Friday 9/27 upset this arrangement. To add fuel to this upset, on Saturday management at one company, Maersk, started operating cranes to put the lids on the cargo holds of a ship being loaded. Union members rushed in to stop this. Cops were called. There were no arrests and Maersk agreed to keep management off the cranes. ILWU agreed not to trespass. At a meeting on Saturday, ILWU workers decided that everyone would report to the union hall on Sunday. Most of the crane operators exercised their right to sign up for other jobs. As a result not all crane jobs were filled, and two or three companies turned away all workers.
The video fills in the details, including showing a crane in operation.
For more information:
http://www.ilwu.org
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As far as I can tell this AP story, which I just received by email, was done by the AP person who was in the group I was in this morning. He did some followup I wasn't able to do. I was busy editing video and had a couple of meetings to attend.
Clip from email begins here:
This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate.
The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/09/29/state2055E
DT0144.DTL
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, September 29, 2002 (AP)
West Coast ports to remain shut until tentative bargain reached
JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press Writer
(09-29) 18:37 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
West Coast ports will remain shut indefinitely, the association
representing shipping lines announced Sunday evening.
The Pacific Maritime Association said it would not order any new workers
to the docks until the longshoremen's union agrees to sign and extend a
lapsed contract they have been negotiating.
The labor crisis will ripple through the U.S. economy as ports that handle
about $1 billion daily worth of cargo shut down.
"They're just doing whatever they're doing," said Steve Stallone, a
spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Association president Joseph Miniace called the decision a "defensive shut
down" that came less than 12 hours after longshoremen returned to the
docks at 29 major Pacific ports as shipping lines lifted a Friday lockout
imposed immediately after contract negotiations with their union fell
apart.
The association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators,
accused the union of deliberately disrupting work by understaffing
operations and dispatching unskilled workers.
The association said productivity had "fallen off the cliff" Sunday,
because of what some association managers said was the way the union was
dispatching workers.
"It's like a plumber showing up to roof your house," said Bill Niland, a
manager for the association's San Francisco area.
"I will not pay workers to strike," Miniace added.
West Coast ports handled more than $300 billion in cargo over the past
year. In the 36 hours the docks were closed, about 30 ships had to moor
outside berths at ports in Los Angeles, Oakland and Seattle and Tacoma,
Wash.
That meant hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Pacific Rim trade
wasn't entering the U.S. distribution chain -- a blow to importers who are
scrambling to secure goods for the holiday season. At the same time,
exporters feared a prolonged disruption would see their goods rot on the
docks.
Miniace appealed for a mediator.
A message left Sunday evening with the U.S. Labor Department was not
immediately returned.
The union has accused the Bush administration of meddling in talks, which
began in May and showed some signs of progress before deteriorating in the
late summer.
Talks finally crumbled last week over the question of how to implement new
technology on the waterfront.
Longshoremen said they can accept short-term job losses from increased
efficiency, but the union wanted guarantees that positions created by
computer tracking systems would be union-covered.
Shipping lines counter that increases in trade will more than offset job
losses, but the union shouldn't have jurisdiction over every new job that
new technology produces.
The San Francisco union chapter, historically one of the most militant on
the coast, told workers who normally report to the same shipping terminal
each day to instead begin Sunday at the dispatch hall for random
assignment. Experienced crane operators, for example, chose other jobs and
left their less experienced co-workers to operate the cranes, according to
Richard Mead, local union president.
At the terminal run by Maersk, no operators took jobs on three cranes to
load the last few containers on a ship that was otherwise ready to steam
out.
"They wanted us to come back like we were going to be good little puppy
dogs," Mead said. "It doesn't work like that on the waterfront."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2002 AP
Clip from email begins here:
This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate.
The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/09/29/state2055E
DT0144.DTL
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, September 29, 2002 (AP)
West Coast ports to remain shut until tentative bargain reached
JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press Writer
(09-29) 18:37 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
West Coast ports will remain shut indefinitely, the association
representing shipping lines announced Sunday evening.
The Pacific Maritime Association said it would not order any new workers
to the docks until the longshoremen's union agrees to sign and extend a
lapsed contract they have been negotiating.
The labor crisis will ripple through the U.S. economy as ports that handle
about $1 billion daily worth of cargo shut down.
"They're just doing whatever they're doing," said Steve Stallone, a
spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Association president Joseph Miniace called the decision a "defensive shut
down" that came less than 12 hours after longshoremen returned to the
docks at 29 major Pacific ports as shipping lines lifted a Friday lockout
imposed immediately after contract negotiations with their union fell
apart.
The association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators,
accused the union of deliberately disrupting work by understaffing
operations and dispatching unskilled workers.
The association said productivity had "fallen off the cliff" Sunday,
because of what some association managers said was the way the union was
dispatching workers.
"It's like a plumber showing up to roof your house," said Bill Niland, a
manager for the association's San Francisco area.
"I will not pay workers to strike," Miniace added.
West Coast ports handled more than $300 billion in cargo over the past
year. In the 36 hours the docks were closed, about 30 ships had to moor
outside berths at ports in Los Angeles, Oakland and Seattle and Tacoma,
Wash.
That meant hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Pacific Rim trade
wasn't entering the U.S. distribution chain -- a blow to importers who are
scrambling to secure goods for the holiday season. At the same time,
exporters feared a prolonged disruption would see their goods rot on the
docks.
Miniace appealed for a mediator.
A message left Sunday evening with the U.S. Labor Department was not
immediately returned.
The union has accused the Bush administration of meddling in talks, which
began in May and showed some signs of progress before deteriorating in the
late summer.
Talks finally crumbled last week over the question of how to implement new
technology on the waterfront.
Longshoremen said they can accept short-term job losses from increased
efficiency, but the union wanted guarantees that positions created by
computer tracking systems would be union-covered.
Shipping lines counter that increases in trade will more than offset job
losses, but the union shouldn't have jurisdiction over every new job that
new technology produces.
The San Francisco union chapter, historically one of the most militant on
the coast, told workers who normally report to the same shipping terminal
each day to instead begin Sunday at the dispatch hall for random
assignment. Experienced crane operators, for example, chose other jobs and
left their less experienced co-workers to operate the cranes, according to
Richard Mead, local union president.
At the terminal run by Maersk, no operators took jobs on three cranes to
load the last few containers on a ship that was otherwise ready to steam
out.
"They wanted us to come back like we were going to be good little puppy
dogs," Mead said. "It doesn't work like that on the waterfront."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2002 AP
great stuff hope to more "OF REAL MEDIA OUT THERE! "
Oh, horror of horrors! MANAGEMENT operated a crane that these prima donna ILWU workers were operating! Jesus Christ, grow up!
How many people would leave their homes and jump at the chance for a job that these union thugs have walked out on?
How many people would leave their homes and jump at the chance for a job that these union thugs have walked out on?
TO SATCHEL: YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS MANAGEMENT SUCK BUTT. YOU NEED TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT LOCK OUT NOT A STRIKE BY THE ILWU. WHAT AN IDIOT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO BE.
TO SATCHEL: YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS MANAGEMENT SUCK BUTT. YOU NEED TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT LOCK OUT NOT A STRIKE BY THE ILWU. WHAT AN IDIOT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO BE.
TO SATCHEL: YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS MANAGEMENT SUCK BUTT. YOU NEED TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT LOCK OUT NOT A STRIKE BY THE ILWU. WHAT AN IDIOT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO BE.
TO SATCHEL: YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS MANAGEMENT SUCK BUTT. YOU NEED TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT LOCK OUT NOT A STRIKE BY THE ILWU. WHAT AN IDIOT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO BE.
TO SATCHEL: YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS MANAGEMENT SUCK BUTT. YOU NEED TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT LOCK OUT NOT A STRIKE BY THE ILWU. WHAT AN IDIOT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO BE.
TO SATCHEL: YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS MANAGEMENT SUCK BUTT. YOU NEED TO PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THIS IS A MANAGEMENT LOCK OUT NOT A STRIKE BY THE ILWU. WHAT AN IDIOT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO BE.
HELLO WHOEVER !!!...... THIS WAS A GREAT VIDEO AND I AM PROUD TO POST A LINK TO IT FROM OUR "UNOFFICIAL WEBSITE" www.ilwulocal8.com
UNION THUGS ...WOW HAS TIME CHANGED !!...IN THE DAY's OBVIOUSLY OF OLD ..AMERICANS WHERE PROUD TO BE A PART OF BUILDING OUR NATION ..NOT STRUGLLING FROM THE CEO's WHO ARE TYRANTLY RUNNING OUR COUNTRY ...HELLO NAFTA / FAST TRACK ...HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CORPORATIONS TREATING WORKERS IF THEY DONT TAKE THE OFFER OF SUB STANDARD LIVING FOR THIER INDUSTRY THEN OFF TO MEXICO THEY GO ...GM ....TO POLUTE OUR WORLD .... WHAT JOB DO YOU HOLD ??? THINK YOU ARE SECURE ..THINK AGAIN ...AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK AND WE ARE THE PALACE GUARDS...WE GO YOU GO !! SO GET OUT OF YOU'RE CUBICALE AND LET YOU'RE VOICE BE HEARD ......ASK YOU'RE DADDY FOR YOU'RE ALLOWANCE COME ON YOU CAN DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!
For more information:
http://WWW.ILWULOCAL8.COM
HELLO WHOEVER !!!...... THIS WAS A GREAT VIDEO AND I AM PROUD TO POST A LINK TO IT FROM OUR "UNOFFICIAL WEBSITE" http://www.ilwulocal8.com
UNION THUGS ...WOW HAS TIME CHANGED !!...IN THE DAY's OBVIOUSLY OF OLD ..AMERICANS WHERE PROUD TO BE A PART OF BUILDING OUR NATION ..NOT STRUGLLING FROM THE CEO's WHO ARE TYRANTLY RUNNING OUR COUNTRY ...HELLO NAFTA / FAST TRACK ...HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CORPORATIONS TREATING WORKERS IF THEY DONT TAKE THE OFFER OF SUB STANDARD LIVING FOR THIER INDUSTRY THEN OFF TO MEXICO THEY GO ...GM ....TO POLUTE OUR WORLD .... WHAT JOB DO YOU HOLD ??? THINK YOU ARE SECURE ..THINK AGAIN ...AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK AND WE ARE THE PALACE GUARDS...WE GO YOU GO !! SO GET OUT OF YOU'RE CUBICALE AND LET YOU'RE VOICE BE HEARD ......ASK YOU'RE DADDY FOR YOU'RE ALLOWANCE COME ON YOU CAN DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!
UNION THUGS ...WOW HAS TIME CHANGED !!...IN THE DAY's OBVIOUSLY OF OLD ..AMERICANS WHERE PROUD TO BE A PART OF BUILDING OUR NATION ..NOT STRUGLLING FROM THE CEO's WHO ARE TYRANTLY RUNNING OUR COUNTRY ...HELLO NAFTA / FAST TRACK ...HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CORPORATIONS TREATING WORKERS IF THEY DONT TAKE THE OFFER OF SUB STANDARD LIVING FOR THIER INDUSTRY THEN OFF TO MEXICO THEY GO ...GM ....TO POLUTE OUR WORLD .... WHAT JOB DO YOU HOLD ??? THINK YOU ARE SECURE ..THINK AGAIN ...AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK AND WE ARE THE PALACE GUARDS...WE GO YOU GO !! SO GET OUT OF YOU'RE CUBICALE AND LET YOU'RE VOICE BE HEARD ......ASK YOU'RE DADDY FOR YOU'RE ALLOWANCE COME ON YOU CAN DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!
For more information:
http://WWW.ILWULOCAL8.COM
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