International Longshoremen's Association Local 1588

Preamble to the ILA:

The Union must bargain for its future. After several concessionary contracts that have weakened the ILA’s unity as well as it’s treasury, we must look toward 2014 and the scheduled completion of the Panama Canal expansion. The expansion means East and Gulf Coast ports will take advantage of all water service from Asia. This is also the same year that our sisters and brothers in the ILWU will be negotiating their contract.

Our members have crafted important demands around ending the wage and royalty tiers, expanding our benefit plans, improving safety and protecting our members work against the impact of new technology and non-union work.
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Given the economic crisis, Local 1588 believes that if progress on the ILA’s key bargaining goals are not achieved quickly and/or the employers demand concessions, early negotiations should be canceled. The ILA should then mobilize its members for its demands prior to the 2010 expiration of the contract.

The ILA must reestablish that it will not sign or finalize a Master Contract until all local bargaining is completed. (Teddy Gleason’s rule of “One port down, all ports down.”) and must invest in it’s own research on the industry to track cargo volume and profits. The ILA must hold a national vote on any extension or new contract.

MASTER CONTRACT PROPOSALS

No Concessions. Including no reductions in gang size or staffing agreements.

Wage Proposal:

Recognizing that workers should be paid the same for the same work, all members should be brought up to scale and all break-in and new hire rates eliminated.

Wage Increases

Effective October 1st, 2009 every ILA member shall earn a base rate of $31.00 per hour, and this rate shall be the base rate for all ILA labor covered under the master contract.

Effective October 1st 2010 the base rate for all ILA labor covered under the master contract shall be increased $2 per hour to $33.00 per hour.

Effective October 1st 2011 the base rate for all ILA labor covered under the master contract shall be increased $2 per hour to $35.00 per hour.

Effective October 1st 2012 the base rate for all ILA labor covered under the master contract shall be increased $2 per hour to $37.00 per hour.

Effective October 1st 2013 the base rate for all ILA labor covered under the master contract shall be increased $2 per hour to $39.00 per hour.

Royalty Cap

As a result of the implementation of new technology for container operations such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), automated crane and vehicle usage, Jobs combined from computers, it is recognized that productivity will increase in relation to the size of the workforce. Therefore to compensate employees for the increase in productivity and overall loss of hours and jobs and to equalize discriminatory tiers:

• The parties will remove both the limitation on supplemental wage benefit and the overall cap on the container royalty.

Health Care

MILA
• Longshore workers who earn 700 hours shall be eligible for the MILA Premier Plan. The employers will fund MILA accordingly.

• Eliminate Co-Pays.

• National dental and vision coverage shall be incorporated into MILA.

• There shall be no reduction of Benefits for the life of the contract.

• Full MILA coverage shall be granted to all retirees and spouses regardless of age until Medicare eligible at which time MILA shall be a supplemental benefit.

New Technology

• Create 40 hour per week guaranteed income/ slow port guarantee to protect employment in the ports.

• For all equipment, create national safe minimum staffing requirements. Ports with higher staffing agreements will not have those taken away. Those minimums shall not be reduced for the life of the contract regardless of the implementation of new technology.

• ILA jurisdiction over all new work created by new technology, including inland rail, intermodal transfer yards and warehousing work.

• The employer agree to card check and neutrality in all new organizing at already existing facilities

• Provide licensing and training to ILA members for all new work. Any ILA member displaced by new technology will be automatically eligible for retraining.

• Yard and Vessel planning is ILA work. Restrict the use of superintendents doing ILA foremen and planning work.

• Encourage the use of “green” technology that reduces harmful emissions that affect the health of ILA members.

• Provide Union equal access as employers to information gathered by the use of RFID and TWIC. Restrict any use of TWIC information for discipline or productivity.

Safety

• Safety standards for container operations shall be incorporated into Master Contract.

• Right to refuse unsafe work in contract. If there is a disagreement a member has right to refuse until ILA safety delegate investigates on the job.

• Automatic 24-hour pier closure for any death or dismemberment on the pier.

• Minimum staffing requirements on machines that account for job stress created by increased throughput and faster machines and include relief time. Local areas with higher standards will not be reduced. Groundmen for all chassis operations with Rail Mounted Gantry, RTG/trainstainer, Top loader, side loader, reach stacker and Straddle operation.

• Negotiated rules for yard and infrastructure conditions, such as, walkways, lighting, communications, surface condition, ground stability and stack deflection.

• Negotiated rules for yard and ship operations, distance between stacks and rows, spacing between operating machines, rules for yard congestion, interaction with outside truckers and personnel, shipside and ship to shore operations, hatch cover removal, dangerous weather, etc.

• Negotiated rules for machine maintenance and conditions, lights, exhaust, sirens, tire painting, cleanliness etc…

• The employer shall fund and the union shall implement a research program on the long-term effects of diesel particulate exposure, repetitive strain and stress injuries, machine noise and vibration.

• To reduce exposure to cancer causing diesel particulate, the employer shall fund and the union shall implement a research program on the implementation of “green” technology. Including reduced emissions vehicles and heavy equipment and “cold ironing of ships.”

• Increased use of HEPA filters and climate control in vehicles to reduce diesel exposure.

• Immediate right to information such as stow positions, ship manifests, MSDS so that workers know the cargo they are handling, especially in cases of leaking containers, labeled materials, fires etc..

• Contractual enforcement of evacuation plan and procedure for chemical and toxic substance exposure.

• The Employer shall provide and pay for any and all required safety equipment and shall provide high quality work gear for inclement weather including boots and gloves.

Work rules

• Twelve “Stop Work” meetings of four hours, per year for union business in master contract.

• ILA members shall be granted coast wide travel and transfer rights for Longshore • workers with 10 years or more seniority.

• Remove No Strike clause from contract.

Faster more effective grievance procedure.

• Once a written grievance is filed with the employer there is a 10-business day time limit at each step to respond. If employer does not respond with in the time limit they shall forfeit the individual grievance.

Step one

I) Informal / verbal / Pier level

Step two
2) Written / Formal / Port wide-District

Step Three
3) USMX-ILA if issue is covered under Master Contract or Independent Arbitration if a port-wide issue.

Step Four
4) Independent Arbitration

Retirement

• Ensure that local pension plans are fully funded to cover a monthly guaranteed benefit of $180 per good year of service.

Jurisdiction

• Cruise lines, break-bulk and ro-ro shall be signatories to the master contract with specific language covering staffing and operations.
Term of Contract
• Contract to expire September 30, 2014.

NY-NJ PORT-WIDE PROPOSALS

No Concessions. Including no reductions in gang size or staffing agreements.

Equipment Operators Skill Differentials

• Effective October 1, 2009 the skill differentials shall be increased by $1.00 per hour.
• Add BH and Hi Lo as skill category with a differential.

Daily hour Guarantee

• A worker who accepts a job and shows to work shall be guaranteed 8 hours pay at the prevailing hourly rate.

Weekly hour Guarantee

• Any employer wishing to have a pier list and sponsorship must guarantee all pier list employees a minimum of 30 hours per week.

“On call time” for telephone hiring

• Workers required to be available for work and await a telephone order but who receive no order shall be paid 1.5 hours and be credited with 4 work hours for the purpose of benefits.

Paid Time Off

• Vacation pay shall match a members average weekly salary, including weekend and other overtime work. But shall never be less than 40 hours at the prevailing straight time hourly rate.

• 10 paid sick / personal days per year.

• 3 months paid leave for birth of a child

• 3 days paid for death in immediate family

Faster more effective grievance procedure.

• Once a written grievance is filed with the employer there is a 10-business day time limit at each step to respond. If employer does not respond with in the time limit they shall forfeit the individual grievance.

Step one

I) Informal / verbal / Pier level

Step two
2) Written / Formal / Port wide-District

Step Three
3) USMX-ILA if issue is covered under Master Contract or Independent Arbitration if a port-wide issue.

Step Four

4) Independent Arbitration

Workrules
• Twelve “Stop Work” meetings of four hours, per year for union business in master contract.

• Remove 10am and 3pm start times. No start times may be used and no shift work implemented that would cause a reduction in annual salaries for the workforce.

• No order cancellations. If a member is ordered to a pier and shows they shall be guaranteed a minimum of 8 hours pay at the prevailing rate.

• Remove No Strike clause from contract.

Hiring and attendance
• Eliminate GAI debit punishment system. The union is willing to discuss the continued use of the system if the Guaranteed Annual Income is returned.

• Port-wide seniority rules for daily hiring and job choice tied to date of hire, not Seniority letter.

• Eliminate employer sponsorship for hiring and reinstatement.

• Information: Provide access to up-to-date port-wide vessel information in order for members to plan ahead. Include arrival time, planned sail time, number of container moves, and number of planned gangs.

• Keep an online port wide log of every member’s daily orders, job assignments and hours for all members to access for the purposes of enforcing seniority.

Retirement

• Pension plans shall be fully funded to cover a monthly guaranteed benefit of $180 per month per good year of service and shall remain a defined benefit plan.

• The Plan will be funded to grant a Cost of Living Adjustment for current retirees.

• The Plan shall be funded so that joint survivor benefits shall be increased to full pension without penalty or reduction to the retired employee.

• Full MILA coverage shall be granted to retirees and spouse regardless of age until Medicare eligible at which time MILA shall be a supplemental benefit.

• Increase annuity contribution by $1 per hour.

Jurisdiction

• Cruise lines, break-bulk and ro-ro shall be signatories to the master contract with specific language covering staffing and operations.

Term of Contract

• Contract to expire September 30, 2014.