PMA issues 2nd News Release and Local 13 LA/LB responded at Union meeting last night.

Yesterday, PMA issued their 2nd News Release regarding the work safely slow down program implemented by the ILWU last week.

It is very serious, except for the part they refer to their industry arbitrators as “independent”. Two x-PMA employees and two ILWU members, are not independent, no matter what PMA claims.

ILWU-slowdowns-spread-to-Southern-California

PMA has, however, set the stage for their next move by claiming the actions of the union are adversely affecting the Commerce of the United States.

PMA is now set to pull the trigger on another lock-out and Taft-Hartley intervention by the government. Do you remember 2002?

PMA has made it clear, if the Union does not stop their slow down/work safely program and resume “normal” operations, the contract negotiations will be severely adversely affected.

For those who do not understand Employer speak that means, if the Union does not make nice and get back to normal production, the shit will hit the fan, i.e. LOCKOUT.

Last night in front of a packed house at the Local 13 Union meeting, Bobby O Jr. told the membership that they know what they are doing, they have 70 years of experience, and everything will ok.

At the best attended Union meeting of the year, there was no discussion of bringing the steady men back to the hall, and there was no discussion of returning to normal operations.

The message to the rank-and-file was to keep on doing what you are doing, it is working.

Right, it is working so well that yesterday several vessels working in the Port of Tacoma fired their ship gangs at 10 am.

If the Union keeps doing what they are doing they will be locked out, it is just a matter of when.

 

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Local 23 President tells members to keep up the good work, at morning dispatch.

Local 23 President, Dean mcGrath, appeared a dispatch this morning to rally the membership and told them they were doing a good job.

Today’s game plan is to work normal at SeaLand and TOTE, as well as the logs, but to work safely at the container yards and against the rest of the container ships.

The chalk board at the Local 23 has 71-20 written on it, but the word of mouth says the members are shooting for 15 -17, which may explain why they keep getting sent home at noon.

The Journal of Commerce has started to notice the Seattle-Tacoma slow downs and associated back-ups, and question the ILWU/PMA bargaining model.

This morning the trucks in Tacoma are backed up all the way to the I5 freeway.

Wonder how long PMA is going to put up with this, and what they plan to do about it.

A contract would be nice, or maybe the California Locals will jump in and do something like call all the steady men back to the hall.

Very interesting.

 

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ILWU’s latest move in LA/LB: refuse to fill transtainer & hammerhead orders.

Last night Local 13 failed to fill orders for 40 transtainer and hammerhead operators, until second dispatch.

The 40 jobs hung, because “Diamond” Dave and his partner blocked the window, with Dave telling people on his own megaphone not to take the trans or hammerhead jobs.

Seems like someone thinks they can put pressure on the PMA by refusing to fill orders for transtainers and hammerhead cranes.

There are qualified operators checked in on the hold board that have been taking these jobs, and would have taken these jobs last night, until the Local’s self appointed enforcers were in the hall telling members not the fill the trans and hammerheads.

After the enforcers took their jobs and left the hall, the transtainer and hammerhead got filled at second dispatch.

Who decided to refuse to fill these jobs and why?

Does the ILWU think that if PMA can hang the hook on the ships in Seattle and Tacoma, they can cause it to hang in LA/LB?

Why in the world would the Union refuse to fill orders and open themselves up to all the negative ramifications associated with their refusal?

If the Union wants to make a statement: call all the steady men back to the hall and fill every order from the hall.

Play smarter.

 

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Port of Tacoma Employers shut down ship operations, allow yard and rail operations continue.

About mid morning the PMA Employers in the Port of Tacoma shut down the ship loading and unloading at Evergreen and WUT, and shifted all the workers to the yard and rail operations that are continuing.

Interesting that the Employers would hang the hook and leave ships sitting idle at the dock.

They are up to something. What is it?

Local 23 has called a meeting at the Union Hall for noon.

What’s up Roger and Dean?

What does your secret plan call for next?

How about bring all the steady men back to the hall, for starters?

 

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LA/LB Employers use the confusion created by no contract to reduce manning.

The LA/LB Employers who use transtainers to load and unload trucks have decided to man 5 transtainers with 6 operators, hoping no one will  say anything about the 4 missing hall men.

Even though the contract says the Employer can order 6 operators for 5 transtainers, for years they have ordered 10.

Yesterday, using the claim of an order screw up the Employers started using only 6 steady men for 5 transtainers hoping the hall won’t notice the change. Even if they do notice, what are they going to do, there is no contract grievance machinery.

The Employers have been waiting for the union to make a dumb move, and they finally did, however the steady men are still being being assigned by pairs to run their hammerheads. Why do the steady crane drivers always get the sweetest deal?

The Employers have implemented their manning reduction for hall men and are now ready to set into motion their Taft-Hartley plan to beat down the Union.

Working without a contract is more fun than they imagined.

Time to bring all the steady men back to the hall?!

 

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The real ILWU finally showed up. Name calling, and blaming everyone else for their stupid move.

Poor little ILWU, are you upset that your “work safely” plan to pressure the Employers backfired because Dean mcGrath and Roger Boespflug got their Local 23 members too excited and they went too far, dropping production to 8 moves per hour?

The International’s press release makes the ILWU look like a bunch of sniveling cry babies, who got their hand caught in the cookie jar and are trying to blame everyone else for their screw up.

ILWU-press-release-11-3-14

Oakland has now joined the work safely program along with LA/LB, but the only ones that worked safely enough to get fired are in Tacoma.

PMA sent all the longshoremen in Tacoma home last night, right before lunch.

Dueling memos, what’s next?

Can you spell Taft-Hartley?

 

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Local 13 Officers appeared at dispatch today to tell longshoremen to work safely. aka slow down the job.

Bobby Olvera Jr. and the entire leadership of Local 13, including Mondo, Mark Williams both LRC Reps and all the Business Agents appeared at dispatch this morning in LA/LB and told the members what was happening in Tacoma then instructed them to work safely as well. Just to be sure everyone understood what he meant, Bobby said “and you know what that means.”

Bobby also got his rant on about telling people not to record what was being said because he did not want to see it on Facebook, and told everyone to be at the Union meeting on Thursday.

Apparently, last Thursday the PMA slid the same proposal they made in May back across the table and that upset Big Bob and his crew.

Were they expecting, that PMA would slide back a proposal that gave them everything the wanted, and more? Right.

The bargaining has now started, and it looks like the Union is out to get locked out again.

Interesting plan Big Bob.

Check out the PMA News Release to see how it is working in the Pacific Northwest.

PMA-News-Release-Pacific-Northwest-Slowdowns-110314

How long before working safely in LA/LB results in another PMA News Release?

Not long.

 

 

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What’s up in Tacoma? Who is lying to the Local 23 longshoremen? Why were most sent home today?

Longshoremen working at Port of Tacoma’s WUT and several other terminals (but not SeaLand or TOTE) were sent home this morning between 11 and 11:30 am.

Yesterday, workers in Tacoma were told by their Union leaders that PMA had walked away from the bargaining table and that they should work very safely.

Working safely resulted in 2 mile long truck lines and about 8 moves per hour against the ships.

Longshoremen in Oakland and LA/LB reported normal production with no reports of slow downs due to working safely.

Longshoremen in Oakland and LA/LB were told the parties agreed not to meet on Friday, for reasons unrelated to the negotiations.

Who is lying to the Local 23 Tacoma longshoremen by telling them PMA walked away form the table related to a technology issue?

Is it the same people telling them to work safely, or is it someone from San Francisco? Leal?

PMA is taking orders for tonight and tomorrow.

What happens next? Roger?

PMA-News-Release-Pacific-Northwest-Slowdowns-110314

 

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