Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

Long Beach, Los Angeles Port Clerks Drop Picket Lines
http://cbs2.com/local/SoCal.port.clerks.2.1800434.html
ul 12, 2010 3:07 pm US/Pacific
Long Beach, L.A. Port Clerks Drop Picket Lines
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―

Clerical workers have returned to work after striking for 11 days at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

A spokesman for the International Longshore Warehouse Union says the workers returned to work at five shipping terminals Monday. Craig Merrilees said the union local dropped its picket lines on Sunday.

Arbitrators have twice ruled the strike was "not bona fide" because the union was negotiating in bad faith. Merrilees says that made it impossible for the more than 10,000 longshoremen at the ports to respect the picket lines.

Stephen Berry, who represents 14 shipping companies negotiating new contracts with the clerks, says he is wary about allowing the clerks to return to work without a settlement.

Negotiations are continuing.

ILWU Local 63 Port clerical workers expand strike to fifth terminal-Pro Company Arbitrator Rules It's a "non-bonafide." strike
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_15479154
Port clerical workers expand strike to fifth terminal

By Kristopher Hanson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/09/2010 06:24:33 PM PDT

Local 63 ILWU member and customer service worker Oscar Aguilar on the picket line at China Ocean Shipping Company in the Port of Long Beach. The clerical workers union of the ILWU has been on strike since July 1 and has expanded the strike to five terminals. (Stephen Carr/Press-Telegram)
Photo Gallery
LONG BEACH - Office workers expanded their strike at the nation's busiest port complex Friday after negotiations collapsed with one of the globe's largest shipping companies.

Strikers launched picket lines at the entrances of a China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) terminal in the Port of Long Beach early Friday, slowing truck traffic in and out of the terminal and briefly halting the unloading of two container ships.

In total, the eight-day strike has disrupted operations at four terminals used by some of the world's biggest ocean carriers.

Officer workers, locked in negotiations with 14 shipping companies since mid-April, began walking off the job after their previous labor contract expired July 1.

Ports: ILWU Labor dispute with bosses threatens operations of ports of L.A., Long Beach
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ports-strike-20100710,0,5048533.story
Labor dispute threatens ports of L.A., Long Beach
Contract negotiations with the maritime clerks union are slow and contentious. The sticking point, insiders say, is an agreement reached last year that relieves employers of certain costs.

Clerical workers strike at some L.A., Long Beach port terminals
California exports rise 21.8% in April

By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times
July 10, 2010

A labor dispute with the potential to shut down much of the nation's busiest seaport complex may drag for weeks as the maritime clerks union and employers argue about a little-known agreement reached during the depth of the global recession.

The two sides at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are still far apart in their negotiations on a contract to replace the one that expired June 30, which prompted a clerk walkout at four container terminals. On Friday, the 900-member clerical union expanded picketing to a fifth container terminal, temporarily interrupting dock operations. But an arbitrator reiterated an earlier ruling that the clerks' picket lines were invalid, and longshoremen, who had briefly honored the picket line, returned to work.

Talks continue as clerks strike at SoCal ports-Abandonment Of Picket Lines To Stop Longshore Workers Has Apparently "caused no apparent disruptions in shipping."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhi38Qa-S9JAVo9mccVSyGxrWNXAD9GQDAPG0
Talks continue as clerks strike at SoCal ports
(AP) – 1 day ago
LOS ANGELES — Negotiations are set to resume for shipping companies and clerical workers who have been striking for seven days at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Union negotiator John Fageaux (FUH'-go) Jr. said negotiations are planned for later Wednesday.
He said the two sides made some progress Tuesday on seniority and grievance matters but remain far apart on core issues.
The union represents about 900 clerical workers and is seeking job protections. The Harbor Employers Association, representing the shippers, insists it has guaranteed no layoffs.
The clerical workers process paperwork for cargo shipments. The strike has caused no apparent disruptions in shipping.

With no end near, talks resume in LA ILWU Local 63 port strike

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_15443054

With no end near, talks resume in LA port strike

By ANDREW DALTON Associated Press Writer
Posted: 07/05/2010 02:40:38 AM PDT
Updated: 07/05/2010 02:40:39 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES—Talks were set to resume Monday after a weekend when negotiators for shipping companies and striking clerical workers made no apparent progress toward ending a strike at the nation's busiest port complex that was entering its fifth day.
Leaders of the two sides in the dispute at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach traded barbs after a half day of bargaining Sunday.
John Fageaux Jr., president of the International Longshore Warehouse Union local that represents about 900 clerical workers, said that during four hours of morning talks his side offered an agreement with no new money, only guarantees that jobs would not be outsourced.
"The union proposed zero increases on the wages and zero increases on the pensions in an effort to resolve the dispute," Fageaux said. "We're just asking for job security."
Fageaux said the union gave employers until 5 p.m. Monday to consider the deal.
The shippers are seeking to use new computer programs allowing customers to access booking information, a move that the union has said would endanger jobs.

ILWU Longshore workers resume work as office workers picket ports of Long Beach, L.A.-ILWU Local 63 Takes Down Picket Lines
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_15421609
Longshore workers resume work as office workers picket ports of Long Beach, L.A.

By Kristopher Hanson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/01/2010 01:02:20 PM PDT

Cindy Ramage walks a picket line near the Evergreen Terminal at the port of Long Beach for the clerical workers union of the ILWU that is on strike. The strike is affecting both the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports as the members try to fight outsourcing. Ramage has worked at the port 20 years, 6 years as a full-time clerk.

Members of the clerical workers' union of the ILW picket in front of the Hanjin Terminal. (Brittany Murray / Press-Telegram)
LONG BEACH -- Work has resumed across the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles hours after picketing office workers began targeting four terminals involved in a labor dispute.
Cargo-handling was disrupted at terminals in both ports for several hours early Thursday after longshoremen refused to cross picket lines set up by striking clerical workers.

By 8 a.m., however, the dockworkers were ordered to resume work after a labor arbitrator ruled that the office workers' strike was not "bona-fide" because the union had bargained in "bad faith," said Stephen Berry, lead negotiator for the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association.

SoCal ILWU 63 port clerks striking after contract expires
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhi38Qa-S9JAVo9mccVSyGxrWNXAD9GM4SQG1
SoCal ILWU 63 port clerks striking after contract expires
By DAISY NGUYEN (AP) – 5 hours ago
LOS ANGELES — A union spokesman says clerical workers several terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are on strike after their contract expired without a new labor agreement.
The contract between the 900 clerical workers and shipping companies at the busiest port in the country expired at 12:01 a.m. PDT Thursday.
John Fageaux Jr. said early Monday that workers will not report for work later in the morning.
Stephen Berry, lead negotiator for the Harbor Employees Association, says the shippers rejected the latest proposal received from the union, which called for a wage increase of 21 percent over three years.
Berry says the shippers countered with a proposal that includes a 10 percent increase in monthly pension payments and protection from layoffs.
He says he's optimistic the two sides will resume communications later Thursday.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ILWU 63 Clerical Workers At Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports Threaten To Strike

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/unions/clerical-workers-threaten-to-s/
Unions
Clerical Workers At Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports Threaten To Strike
By Clarissa Wei, Wed., Jun. 30 2010

​Nine hundred clerical workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have threatened to strike unless companies make concessions. Though no walkout date has been set, the union voted unanimously on Tuesday night after shipping companies failed to reach an agreement before the July 1 contract expiration date. According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the union and a collation of international shipping companies have been meeting in an attempt agree on contract terms since April 19.

According to John Fageaux, president of the Office Clerical Unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's Local 63, workers are looking to prevent employers from outsouring jobs.

Representatives from shipping companies have called the threat to strike "irresponsible."

"[The strike] could upset cargo orders on the West Coast just ahead of peak season, and could reverse the modest gains that have begun to put people back to work," said Stephen Berry, an attorney representing the Harbor Employers Association.

The ILWU, Solidarity And The War With Rio Tinto-Scab Cargo Moving In LA Ports
http://blip.tv/file/3455361
On April 6, 2010 an ILWU Local 10 solidarity meeting was held for the locked out
ILWU Local 30 Boron miners. They are in a life and death struggle with the massive
mining conglomerate Rio Tinto. The meeting which was a ILWU Local 10 Education
and Steward's meeting was supposed to include ILWU Local 30 miners but according
to reports they were prevented from attending the meeting by pressure from the
International ILWU and also that the the movement of scab cargo was going on in the
LA ports while the ILWU Coast Caucus was taking place.
For more information from ILWU Local 30 go to
http://boraxminers.com/
Production of
Labor Video Project P.O. Box 720027, San Francisco, CA 94172
laborvideo.blip.tv www.laborvideo.org
(415)282-1908

Hard-hit LA ILWU longshoremen turn generosity inward

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dockworkers25-2009dec25,0,6245687,full.story

SHIPPING
Hard-hit longshoremen turn generosity inward
Traffic -- and work -- at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach have dropped dramatically. The union gives holiday handouts to needy locals, but this year it's helping its own members too.

By Ronald D. White
December 25, 2009

Several times, the small boy at the union toy giveaway looked over his shoulder at Steve Roldan and then back at the Hot Wheels V-Drop Super Velocity Track Set.

"Am I going to be able to keep this?" the boy asked. "Is this really mine?"

The longshoreman knew how the child felt. The 51-year-old had handed back his own prized possession, the first new car he'd ever bought, after work at the San Pedro docks dwindled and the car payments became too much to handle.

"If I had a Christmas wish, it would be to see more ships in this harbor," Roldan said. "People having the money to buy things for their families. It would be to see more work for everyone."

It's been a long, strange year for dockworkers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Theirs are among the highest-paid blue-collar jobs in the nation, paying $22 to $35 an hour.