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Waterfront
101:
What you should know about the West Coast docks
The Labor Contract
The contract, also known as the Pacific Coast Longshore Contract, is negotiated between the International Longshore and Wharehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). The current contract is for a six year term and expires July 1, 2008. You can read the Memorandum of Understanding in PDF Format.
The Negotiators
The longshore division is made up of local unions that are defined along occupational lines, as follows: longshore workers, clerks, walking bosses/foremen. There are several longshore locals in each of the four geographic divisions, including one clerk and one walking boss local. The four geographic areas are: Washington and Puget Sound, Oregon and the Columbia River, Northern California and Southern California. Each local is autonomous within the Longshore Division. They are responsible for negotiating local agreements and work rules. Locals also administer grievance procedures through the Local Labor Relations Committee.
The executive body of the Longshore Division is called the Coast Labor Relations Committee. It has four members: the ILWU International President and Vice President and two additional members call "Coast Committeemen." During contract negotiations, the process for union approval goes through the following process:
1) Agreement between
the union and PMA negotiation committee.
2) The contract is presented to the Longshore Caucus.
3) If approved by the caucus, the contract is sent to the union membership
for a ratification vote - voting is by each individual local.
Pacific
Maritime Association (PMA)
The principal business of the PMA is to negotiate and administer maritime
labor agreements with the ILWU. The membership of the PMA consists of American
and foreign flag operators, and stevedore
and terminal companies that operate in California, Oregon, and Washington
ports. The labor agreements the PMA negotiates on behalf of its members
cover wages, employee benefits, and conditions of employment for longshoremen,
marine clerks and walking basses and foremen.
Overview of the Dispatch Process
While there are specific exceptions, longshore employees work out of a dispatch hall and receive job assignments on a shift basis to ship, dock, marine terminal, Container Freight Station, and other related maritime jobs. Steadily employed longshore workers generally report directly to their employer and are not dispatched through the dispatch hall on a regular basis. The dispatch process begins with the receipt of daily manpower orders that each employer sends to the joint ILWU-PMA dispatcher. For example, with regard to labor needs associated with the arrival of a vessel, information conveyed includes vessel arrival and the number and types of jobs that will need to be filled. If there are multiple labor orders, these are prioritized according to rules agreed to by the PMA members. Once the prioritization is complete, the information is transmitted to the dispatch hall and the dispatching of labor proceeds.
Efforts to change the dispatch process as part of labor negotiations has always been met with stiff opposition, because the union guards its right to manage the dispatch process as it sees fit.
Work Shifts
There are three shifts used by the longshore workforce:
Each shift has a specific hourly pay rate, with the Hoot Own Shift being the most expensive. The latest agreement provides for some flexibility in starting and stoping times.
Casual
A casual laborer, as compared to a full time or steady employee, is hired
for a single work shift and, if needed, may be asked to return each day
until a certain work task is completed. Casuals are dispatched to a job
only after all full time (registered) longshore workers have been dispatched.
Casual laborers are non-registered members of the ILWU who are paid at rates
specified in the Pacific Cost Longshore Contract, but are not eligible for
benefits. Productivity gains at the ports could result in the loss of casual
jobs.
Clerk
(Marine Clerk)
An employee responsible for performing clerical functions related to receiving,
delivering, checking, tallying, yard and/or cargo area inventorying (including
containers), sorting, spotting, weighing and inspecting cargo and/or containers
for the purpose of keeping records required by an individual employer. Many
believe that the imposition of technology enhancements at the terminals
will result in job losses for the marine clerks.
Dispatch
Hall
All longshore employees in a port are dispatched through halls maintained
and operated jointly by the ILWU and the PMA. However, the dispatch process
and the halls themselves are an extremely important issue for the ILWU.
Eliminating the dispatch process will certainly elicit an extremely emotional
response from ILWU members.
Foreman
(also known as Walking Boss)
Foremen are members of the ILWU with responsibility and authority to supervise,
place or discharge personnel and to direct the work of the longshoremen
on the job in performance of all cargo handling and stevedoring activities
covered under the Pacific Coast Longshore Contract.
Longshoreman
Individual employed locally in a port to load and unload ships.
Stevedore
The individual or firm that employs longshoremen.
