Nov 9, 2009

Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

Joseph Bonney

International Longshoremen’s Association members are preparing to vote Nov. 17 in a closely watched referendum on a two-year contract extension that would provide East and Gulf Coast ports with labor peace through September 2012.

Read the latest November 9, 2009 letter from President Hughes - http://www.ilaunion.org/pdf/LetterEffectsVoting.pdf

ILA President Richard Hughes, who negotiated the agreement with United States Maritime Alliance, has been visiting union halls to campaign for rank-and-file ratification. His stops have included Charleston, S.C., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., locals whose leaders oppose the deal.

The Longshore Workers Coalition, an activist faction, has criticized the agreement and mounted a “vote no” campaign. The LWC contends that talks should be delayed until closer to the existing contract’s expiration in Sept. 30, 2010.

Hughes and USMX say the proposed extension would prevent nervous shippers from diverting cargo to avoid a possible work stoppage and would give the union and employers an extra two years to allow economic conditions to stabilize.

The deal is backed by top ILA leaders, including Harold Daggett, the union’s executive vice president, who two months ago feuded publicly with Hughes over the direction of negotiations. Daggett said he supports the final ILA-USMX agreement and predicts it “will pass with flying colors.”

The proposed contract extension would boost starting pay, raise top pay to $32 an hour in 2011 and narrow the gaps between experience-based wage tiers in 2012. The agreement would end caps on carriers’ tonnage-based payments to container royalty programs after this year. It also would establish an ILA-management committee to analyze technology’s impact on jobs and strengthen an existing committee’s power to enforce decisions on jurisdictional disputes.