International Longshoremen's Association Local 1588

Employers are not permitted to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights to Union activity. It is a violation of Federal Law to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against employees for filing a grievance or to discriminate against employees because of union or collective activity or to discourage support for a union.

"Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining" [National Labor Relations Act, Section 7]

On May 5, 2009 the Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board in Newark against Global Terminals. The text of the charge is below.

“On or about Thursday 4/30/09 and again on or about Friday 5/1/09 Global Terminal, through its agents, retaliated against ILA Local 1588 members for their concerted and protected activities by threatening to reduce wages and working conditions in response to the filing of a grievance.

Global terminal threatened in response to the grievance to:

• Require 1588 members to "check-in" even when they are on a break,
• Require 1588 members to remain on the terminal even if they are on a break,
• Reduce workers' hours in the yard by hiring half of the operators from 6am to 3pm and the other half from 8am to 5pm or finish,
• Reduce crane differential pay for RTG operators from $2.50 per hour to $1.50 per hour,
• Require that the RTG operators on break work their break.”

Please report any violations or suspected violations to the union.