Port settlement attacking ILWU and Martime workers approved by anti-labor Port of Oakland Board, clearing Oakland stadium hurdle "What rubs me wrong is it's all about corporate greed,"

Port settlement attacking ILWU and Martime workers approved by anti-labor Port of Oakland Board, clearing Oakland stadium hurdle "What rubs me wrong is it's all about corporate greed," 
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_23644398/port-settlement-approved-clearing-oakland-stadium-hurdle?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

By Matthew Artz Oakland Tribune
Posted:   07/12/2013 08:52:29 AM PDT
Updated:   07/12/2013 08:52:36 AM PDT

OAKLAND -- After two weeks of delays, port commissioners unanimously approved a lawsuit settlement Thursday that could produce the port's first super-sized terminal and pave the way for a waterfront baseball stadium in Oakland.
The agreement ends maritime operations at Howard Terminal, which given its proximity to Jack London Square is seen as Oakland's most viable location for a new major league ballpark.
The 50-acre terminal is hardly a slam dunk to become the A's next home. There are significant environmental and infrastructure issues, and A's co-owner Lew Wolff has said repeatedly that a privately-financed stadium wouldn't pencil out at the site.
But both baseball officials and local business leaders have told city leaders that they prefer a ballpark along the waterfront rather than at the Coliseum complex. With the A's push to move to San Jose being thwarted by the San Francisco Giants, Oakland stadium boosters hope that the prospect of a ballpark and retail development near Jack London Square would convince baseball officials that they have a viable alternative to San Jose.
"There is really a chance to build something special and spectacular there," said Jim Zelinski, of the fan group Save Oakland Sports.
The settlement, which won't be finalized until the seven-member Board of Port Commissioners votes to approve it a second time later this month, stems from a battle between two well-heeled companies that operate terminals where container ships are loaded and unloaded.
SSA Terminals filed a lawsuit against the port claiming that it had violated federal shipping law by giving its main competitor, Ports America, a sweetheart deal.
The settlement allows SSA to end its lease at Howard Terminal four years before it was set to expire, take over leases at two other terminals and extend two of its terminal leases to 2022. SSA would control three contiguous terminals, which could be consolidated into a much larger terminal capable of handling the next generation of much larger cargo ships.
The settlement will cost the port $40 million in lost lease payments at Howard Terminal. Port officials say they can recoup the money over time from the lease extensions and establishment of a larger terminal.
Several port unions, which stand to lose jobs to different unions that do more work with SSA, spoke out against the settlement. "What rubs me wrong is it's all about corporate greed," said Ed Henderson of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Ports America also opposed the settlement, which it maintained would give SSA a competitive advantage.
Jay Bowden, who heads the company's Oakland terminal operation, declined to comment on the settlement Thursday, but in a June letter to the port he intimated that the company might sue the port, seeking concessions that would match those given to SSA.
Contact Matthew Artz at 510-208-6435 or martz@bayareanewsgroup.com
For further video go to:
ILWU 10 & MFOW Protest Union Busting At APL Docks In Oakland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvCEHFRhZY
On July 9, 2013 ILWU Local 10 mechanics and MFOW mechanics at the APL terminal in Oakland protested the violation of their contracts by APL which has transferred their work to the SSA terminal next to APL. The protest began just before 7:30 a.m. when longshoremen blocked berths where trucks deliver and pick up supplies at berths 57-59, located along Middle Harbor Road at the port. Workers fear a loss of jobs if port tenants are let out of their leases at the port’s terminals. A local arbitrator ruled midmorning that no “bona fide” reason existed for the picket line and ordered the workers back to their jobs, according to Robert Bernardo, the communications manager for the Port of Oakland but workers continued to picket. ILWU Local 10 longshore workers were also angry that the Port Of Oakland Board of Directors who are appointed by Democratic Mayor Jean Quan  called an emergency meeting on Bloody Thursday July 5, 2013 when the ILWU was commemorating the death of two workers in 1934 in their fight to get a union hiring hall and a union contract.
Some workers felt that the port board wanted to get a stadium on port land and were kowtowing to developers in the transformation of the port away from maritime jobs. They also were concerned that SSA monopolization of the port would threaten the rights and conditions of ILWU longshore workers.
Labor Video Project www.laborvideo.org
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