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Portland Port Security Officers Win No Outsourcing Assurance

From Maritime Executive:
Security officers at the Port of Portland, Oregon, USA have won an eleventh hour agreement that their jobs will not be outsourced.
Their win came just 12 hours before a strike deadline. It will prevent the outsourcing of security jobs at the port’s big number two and six terminals. The officers are represented by the ITF-affiliated ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union).
“This agreement protects good-paying, blue-collar jobs that Portland working families need so badly,” said Jerry Hardman, ILWU Local 28 President.
The four-year agreement is subject to a democratic ratification vote by the membership. It covers wages, benefits and working conditions for 25 Security Officers and will expire in June of 2015.
Sharon James, ITF dockers’ section secretary, described the win as “a victory for common sense,” and applauded the determination of the officers and their union to safeguard jobs.
More at Maritime Executive

Port clerical workers go on strike, walk off jobs in Los Angeles

Clerical workers at Pier 400 walked off the job to protest their inability to negotiate new contracts with terminal operators. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63′s Office Clerical Unit has been trying to negotiate a new agreement with 14 employers at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles since its last one expired on June 30, 2010.
Craig Merrilees, a spokesman for the ILWU based in San Francisco, said he is not sure how long the strike will last or whether it will spread to other terminals at the Port of Los Angeles or to the Port of Long Beach.
“Big companies are outsourcing good jobs that the harbor community needs and can’t afford to lose,” ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees said. “There have been talks for 2 1/2 years and companies continue to deny the outsourcing problem. The strike may cause them to look at this as a real problem instead of the fantasy they claim it is.”
According to a union release, terminal operators have eliminated 51 clerical jobs in the past five years.
Full article in the Contra Costa Times

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Source: NY Times

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Source: Jewish Daily Forward

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Source: NH Labor News

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Source: Republican

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Source: Huffington Post