Unless or until PMA decides to step up and deal with the bullies running the ILWU, nothing is going to change.
PMA could start by stopping the Union from fining members “all monies earned” for dispatch violations, and make the Union use the grievance procedure of the Contract.
Big Bob and his heir apparent Frank Ponce de Leon are pathetic bullies that need to be dealt with, if the labor relations climate in the waterfront is going to change.
Time for PMA to stop kissing ass and start kicking it, starting with Local 23.
According to this set of Executive Board Minutes, Local 23 has decided to bully and intimidate Seattle travelers by fining them $50 plus “all monies earned” when they commit a lineup violation during dispatch.
What moron at Local 23 decided to add “all monies earned” to rule 1238 of the Local 23 Work Rules? Conrad?
Local 23 dispatchers and members sit and watch visitors from other Ports lineup wrong, do not say anything (unless they are a friend), then put their Union brother, or sister as in this case, on the spindle for a lineup violation.
What makes them think the can bully travelers like that?
They think they can do anything they want, because PMA sits there, does nothing and lets the Union fuck over their own members.
I am not sure how anyone is supposed to know all the Tacoma Rules, there are 58 pages of rules and the Local does not give them out unless they are asked for a copy, and then they make whoever is asking tell the secretary why they want them. Duh?
Here is a current copy of all the Tacoma Working Rules, which are NOT included in the Local 23 Working and Dispatching Rules that have been agreed to by the JPLRC. Local 23 Work Rules as of 2-11-16
As a result of the E-Board Minutes, the following NLRB charge has been filed against Local 23 for stealing “all monies earned” from travelers who make lineup mistakes.
Time for the PMA to step up and stop the bullies currently running the ILWU from fucking everything up for everyone else.
Check out the Employer Complaint filed against a Local 23 crane driver for allegedly bending the joy sticks in a crane at Ports America’s Pierce County Terminal, in the Port of Tacoma.
This is what it looks like when a couple of steady mechanics are out to get you. They get the Employer, in this case Ports America to file a Complaint like the one filed against Kevin Arneberg.
Mechanics do not go up and check the joy sticks after every crane driver leaves the cab, and there are no cameras in the cabs, so how did the Company decide that Kevin bent them?
The “proof” offered that Kevin “did it” is the allegation that he did the same thing on 2 prior occasions, neither of which were documented and 1 of which is outside the 30 day deadline for filing Complaints.
Looks like “Dr. Pirate” Dean and the rest of the Medical Staff on the Executive Board, think they are Dr. Drew (based on their personal experience or watching way too much reality TV) and they have decided to require Kevin to complete a 28 day inpatient program. For what? Bending joy sticks?
Travel Alert issued for travelers thinking of working in the Port of Tacoma. Double check the Lineup rules, a violation could cost you all the money you earn + $50, if you are a girl; or no fine and no dispatch to Tacoma for 6 months, if you are a guy. Not sure what they do about transgender people, do they get penalized based on their birth gender or how they identify themselves today?
On a positive note, the Anti-Bullying fundraising dinner was a success raising $278.74.
Seems like the money could be put to good use trying to educate the members of the Executive Board so they will stop bullying Travelers and Local 23 members they do not like.
On a financial note, it is interesting to see that last month the Local spent $3,622 on jackets and hats and only $784.39 on legal fees.
Harry was right. If the rank-and-file gets all the information they will always do the right thing, and that is what happened at last nights’s Local 13 stop-work meeting.
By a 2 to 1 margin the members voted NOT to kick Eric out of the Union for writing his fliers.
Thank you to the lady longshoremen that took the microphone and spoke, both for and against Eric.
It is clear that the membership wants Eric to keep writing his fliers, and they want him to keep questioning the leadership.
Thank you ILWU Local 13 members, for doing the right thing.
Eric “The Activist” was re-elected to the Grievance Committee and the Executive Board by Local 13’s rank-and-file.
At tomorrow’s stop-work meeting Bobby is going to swear Eric in to his elected positions, however either before of after that, Bobby is going to preside over his crack rat buddies, John “Boy Toy” Seixas and Larry “Two Dogs Humping” Toledo’s Trial Committee decision to have Eric kicked out of the Union, without telling him what it was that he did, exactly.
Larry is a nice guy, and a really good lawyer, but he is not neutral and he is no outsider.
Larry was representing Local 19 in 1983 when I transferred from PMA San Francisco to PMA Seattle.
In the mid-1990s Larry took over representing Local 23 in Tacoma after longtime ILWU attorney, and son of Local 19 dispatcher Dewy Dugan, Bob Dugan retired.
Here is one of the numerous NLRB settlement postings Larry signed while representing ILWU Local 23.
Neutral? I don’t see how. His first inclination is always going to be to protect the ILWU.
From outside the industry? Come on!
This is just the latest in a long line of cons being run by Pinky and The Brain.
Starting in 2008, the ILWU and PMA agreed to modify Section 13.2 and replace the local Arbitrators with a “neutral panel,” but were unable to figure out how to do it for the entire term of the Agreement.
During the 2014 Negotiations, the ILWU and PMA agreed to “appoint the following individual from outside the industry to serve as the Coast Appeals Officer under the Section 13.2 procedures; [name].”
The LOU claims the Coast Appeals Officer shall serve at the direction of the CLRC, but we all know that means at the direction of Big Bob, aka “The Brain.”
All Big Bob’s Arbitrators are in place and in Southern California, doing his bidding. Right Mascola?
$55/day bonus pay to dayside steady crane drivers, without assessments, no problem.
Make whole Crane payments of up to $178/day to Hall crane drivers, without assessments, no problem.
Robots are taking over the docks, without assessments, no problem.
Pinky and The Brain’s plan to take over the world, without assessments, no problem because they will both walk away millionaires and leave the unfunded benefits for the rest of you.
It has been over 3 years since Eric’s election flier with this cartoon caused Local 13’s President, Chris Viramontes, to file a Section 13.2 discrimination complaint.
The Arbitrator ruled the cartoon was not a violation, but then he and the Union decided they were going to “get” Eric and found him guilty of making “libelous and disparaging statements,” and gave him 180 days non-dispatch.
When Eric appealed to the Union’s Coast Appeals Officer, Rudy Rubio, he not only denied the Appeal, he added another 180 days to the penalty.
PMA refused to implement the Arbitrations claiming they should be vacated in 2 letters. One dated November 21, 2012, the other dated November 27, 2012.
On December 18, 2012, The Union called the Arbitrator and forced PMA to implement Eric’s 6 months non-dispatch.
Thanks to a couple of actual Union men, Eric was able to work at a non-PMA rail ramp at the Port of Tacoma who hire ILWU workers under a non-PMA contract .
When Local 13 found out Eric was working out of Local 23 at the non-PMA job, they contacted their buddies at Local 23 and had them pass a rule to prevent Eric from being dispatch to the job.
When Local 23 tried to enforce the “Eric” rule they were confronted by the NLRB who told them their rule was illegal, and they ended up dropping the rule.
On July 3, 2014, right after Eric’s return from Tacoma, he was confronted by Local 13’s President who invited Eric to go across the street into the alley and “work it out.” He was pissed off that Eric had been able to work when the Union had put him on non-dispatch.
It was Frank Ponce de Leon that ran crying into the Local, like a little girly man yelling call 911 Eric had assaulted Chris, and the Local called the Arbitrator and got Eric another year on non-dispatch, plus the 180 days added on by Rubio.
Local 13 told Eric they had to implement his non-dispatch, because all penalty Arbitrations had to be implemented, in order to protect the integrity of the grievance procedure.
Eric filed his Section 13.3 discrimination complaint, UC-42-2013, in late February 2013 when he found out the Union had been lying to him about their claim they had to implement all Arbitrations.
Eric found out that Award SC-10-97, the Award that banned Local 13’s favorite son Danny Imbagliazzo from steady employment for life, had never been implemented. So much for their integrity.
It took Eric over 3 years to get to the first step of the Section 13.3 grievance procedure, his Section 17.4 hearing.
On March 10, 2016, the LA/LB JPLRC allowed Eric to present his case.
Here is the list of the 66 Exhibits submitted by Eric at his hearing.
The documents speak for themselves, and they tell a story of a Union doing everything it can to deny a member his right to due process, but in the end right makes might.
Eric finally got the opportunity to make his case that he was discriminated against by his own Union, and here is what he said;
It is now up to the LA/LB JPLRC to make a decision, and Eric has the right to appeal their decision to the CLRC and ultimately to the Coast Arbitrator, if he disagrees.
In the mean time, Bobby O Jr. and his crack rat buddies are going to kick Eric out of the Union, at the next Union Meeting, without telling him what he did or giving him anything in writing.
Time to find out if the words; An Injury to One is An Injury to All, really mean what they say.
Time for the over 6,000 members who did not vote for Bobby to show up at the next Union meeting and tell Bobby you do not want to kick Eric out of the Union, because the words mean something.
Time to find out if Harry was right when he said; if the members get all the information they will always do the right thing.
Time for the members of the ILWU to start acting like a Union, and do the right thing.
If not, this is what the beginning of the end looks like.
PMA member companies and Southern California politicians must be very happy this morning, King “Crack Rat” Bobby O Jr. is in for another year.
Another year with Bobby O in charge means nothing will happen for another year, and the robot overlords can continue to eliminate longshore jobs with impunity.
Only 2,413 of the nearly 7,000 “Union” members in Local 13 voted. Bobby was elected by 1,204 members.
Congratulations Bobby, and thanks to your little Local 13 crack rat buddies, another year of job security for me.
John Seixas got the nick name “Bobby’s Boy Toy” after he got caught lying like a rug, as Bobby’s witness, in the Grievance Bobby filed against Eric accusing him of tearing down Bobby’s election fliers.
This Section 13.2 Complaint that Seixas filed against “The Greek” is a perfect example of his pathological lies.
Arbitrator Jan Holmes initially denied Seixas’ bullshit 13.2 Complaint, but Bobby used his influence with the Coast Appeals Officer, Rudy Rubio, retired ILWU member suffering from dementia, and had him give his “Boy Toy” a hearing.
That hearing resulted in Award SCGM-0001-2016, and here it is:
Click the hyperlink if you prefer a pdf file. SCGM-0001-2016
Lying sack of shit John Seixas is fronting for Bobby O again, this time as the Attorney of Facts for the Trial Committee, where he just made a move to kick Eric out of the Union, with no exhibits, with no evidence, and without telling him what he did.
Oh, and John, I misspelled your name because I got the spelling from some Trial Committee minutes. I will be sure to get it right from now on.
Stop lying like a rug John, and everything will be ok.
