Local 23’d pathetic effort to have their Secretary, who is married to a longshoreman, claim she is being “berated” by workers who are asking for copies of JPLRC Minutes, did not work. Now Local 23 has a date to explain themselves to a Judge on October 10, 2017.
Here is a copy of the 1st page of the Complaint and a copy of the violations being alleged by the NLRB.
Dean McGrath and the rest of the Local 23 elected Officials lie like rugs, and that is not going to get them out of this.
Real Union leaders DO NOT keep information from their members, because real Union leaders don’t have anything to hide.
Deano and the rest of the Local 23 Officers don’t want workers to know what they are really doing, or not doing, because they are feathering their own nests and taking care of their friends and family, and past Officers like Conrad Spell.
Conrad got his ass kicked on the job. The Employer wrote a Complaint, and the Union moved to have it dropped, because Conrad is the current Caucus Chairman, but will be disqualified if he is found guilty of fighting on the job.
Local 23 does not want the rest of the workers to know how they go to bat for former Officers like Scott Mason, who almost killed a member when he picked up his semi and dropped him to the dock.
Nothing happened to Scott because he is a past President and friend of Business Agent Dave Basher.
If you are not a friend of Bashers, or a former Local 23 Officer, you get sent to 28 day inpatient treatment by Basher, who is not qualified to make those kinds of decisions and who does so without checking with the ILWU/PMA Subsistence Abuse program director.
Local 23 does not want workers to know what they are doing, so they deny them assess to the JPLRC Minutes.
Deano McGrath also lies to other ILWU Local Presidents. He told Local 13 President Mark Mendoza that one of his members (not Eric) could not work at the non-PMA rail ramp because the Local has a rule that prohibits it. A flat out lie.
The Rail Ramp Agreement specifically says that no union rule can be used to deny dispatch.
Time for Deano to stop lying like a rug and start acting like the guy they have the statue of in their Local; the guy Local 23 ran out of town in 1934, Harry Bridges.
Stop using his name if you are not going to follow up with actions like he would have.
Local 23 Business Agent Dave Basher posted the following Motion to raise the fee charged to 30-day Travelers from $25 to $500 per visit.
Apparently this is Basher’s idea of how to raise money to offset all the attorney’s expenses related to the recent NLRB charges filed against Local 23.
It was Basher that prevented Eric from working at the SIM, and he lied saying the CLRC said he could not.
It was Basher that decided to place members into 28-day treatment, with no training and no authority.
It was Basher that refused to do anything to Scott Mason after he picked up and dropped a semi at Matson, injuring the driver.
Now it is Basher that is shooting his mouth off about the money being spent to defend the Local from NLRB charges, filed by travelers like Karey Martinez. For that, he gets another NLRB charge.
Have they thought about getting rid of Basher, as he is the one causing all the problems?
Notice the law firm is from Washington D. C., that’s the firm that hires NLRB Board Members after they leave the Board. Not Board Agents, or Board Attorneys, but Board Members; those are what other lawyers call, the guys that wear the big under wear.
That is a lot of horsepower, for a rather simple case involving a requirement that requires workers to exhaust the grievance procedure of the PCLCD before seeking any other remedy.
Their defense is simple and interesting. The main claim is that the language has been in the Contract for decades and no one has had any problems with it.
That is like claiming that you have been beating your wife for decades, and she has never complained. How do you think that will work with the Judge?
Both the International and Local 19 are acting like the children that they are. Both refused to provide a copy of their answers, as is customary in these cases.
Rob Remar, the International’s longtime attorney made no bones about it. He just flat out left me off the service list. Wonder if Big Baby told him to, or if he decided all on his own?
Local 19 however, just flat out lied. They claim to have provided me with a copy, but did not send it. Wonder if they decided t do it on their own, or if Local 19 Chief Ball Washer, Rich Austin, told them to?
Local 19 President Rich Austin, his big mouth, and his bully boy tactics have resulted in the following NLRB Complaints against PMA, Local 19, and the ILWU International; 19-CB-190139 and 19-CA-195788 Complaint and Hearing Order. (A corrected copy will be available shortly)
Local 19 Officials, Rich Austin, Kurt Herriage, Justin Hirsch, Ryan Lenz, Paul Wasbrekke, and Dispatcher Robert Denzel, will no longer be able to brag that they have never lost an NLRB case.
This is all thanks to Rich Austin shooting off his big mouth, at the October 13, 2016, Union Meeting.
Rich wrote down what he said, and what he said is unlawful. Rich is not going to weasel his way out of this one.
The NLRB decided that not only is what he said about going to the NLRB being an attack on the Union unlawful, the Region also decided that the language from Section 17.15 requiring the PCLCD grievance procedures be exhausted before seeking other relief is also unlawful.
The Union needs to teach their members that the NLRB was established to protect Unions and their members, and “going to the outside” is not an attack on the Union, it is your right.
The question of whether or not the PCLCD, and PCCCD, have been printed is of interest because the NLRB wants the language in Section 17.15 changed.
Big Baby has until June 7, 2017, to respond to Region 19 and until August 1, 2017 to settle, or go to trial in Seattle at 9 am, August 1, 2017.
Is Big Baby going to settle and admit no wrong doing, or take it all the way and give me my first winner, winner, chicken dinner?
The ILWU and PMA lie all the time, but not when they are under oath.
Why would Leal Sundet and Rich Marzano lie, under oath, about how the Coast Labor Relations Committee makes decisions?
Since 1934, each side of every Labor Relations Committee, including the Coast Labor Relations Committee, has had 3 or more members and each side has always had 1 vote. If the Parties fail to agree, they arbitrate or do nothing. Mostly they do nothing. They even have specific language, PCLCD Section 17.271, to dispose of the grievances they fail to act on within 6 months.
According to Section 9 of the 1934 Arbitration Decision, the Labor Relations Committees shall be comprised of 3 members designated by the Employers and 3 members designated by the Union. The Award also spells out that if the Parties fail to agree on any issue before them, either party may request Arbitration.
“Each of said Labor Relations Committees shall be comprised of 3 or more representatives designated by the Union and 3 or more representatives designated by the Employers. Each side of the committee shall have equal vote.”
“In the event that the Employer and Union members of the Joint Coast Labor Relations Committee fail to agree on any question before it, including a question as to whether the issue was properly before the Coast Labor Relations Committee, such question shall be immediately referred at the request of either party to the Coast Arbitrator for hearing and decision, and the decision of the Coast Arbitrator shall be final and conclusive.”
At no time, ever, has each side had 3 votes as claimed by ILWU’s Leal Sundet and PMA’s Rich Marzano during the NLRB hearing.
At no time, ever, has either side voted against their own side’s interests in order to protect the integrity of the Agreement.
What does for the integrity of the Agreement mean?
Nothing, it is a ridiculous and meaningless phrase used by the Union.
It is the ridiculous reason given by Coast Committeeman Frank Ponce de Leon, when he and Big Baby snatched up Employer Complaint EC-0781-2016, against Chris Viramontes, as well as the Complaints against the other longshoremen involved in the multi-million dollar Port Medical fraud case. (LA Times Article 1-16-17)
The real reason Frank, Cam and Big Baby snatched up the Employer Complaints is to protect themselves, because they along with Ray Ortiz Jr. were up to their eyeballs in it, and now they are trying to send the Complaints to the PCLCD Section 17.271 6 month bone yard.
Chris Viramontes feels so confident that the CLRC will bury the Employer Complaints that he was bragging at a recent Executive Board meeting about being the money man for Port Medical and what a good investment it was. He even nominated himself to the Benefits Committee at the Caucus, to which one member responded; Are you going to do that from jail?
Individuals have integrity, not agreements, but not individuals who lie under oath.
This is what deception and flat out lying looks like.
ILWU members buy this nonsense because they don’t know better. What is the NLRB Administrative Judge’s excuse?
Check out the Background on pages 2-5 of the Administrative Law Judge’s Decision in NLRB case 19-CB-169296;
Or for those who prefer PDF, here is the entire Decision in Case 19-CB-169296.
If what Leal Sundet said is true, then Eric Aldape would not be doing time off right now for his political cartoons.
On more than one occasion Leal told Eric that he felt that Eric won his case, or that he agreed with Eric’s position, but he never once voted with PMA to “protect the integrity” of the Agreement.
If the ILWU and PMA will lie under oath in an NLRB hearing over a simple 10 b timeliness case, what else are they lying about?
One other flat out lie is that the CLRC deals with about 500 grievances per year.
I have been reading CLRC Minutes for 36 years, and they do not deal with 500 grievances per year. Why would Leal and Rich lie about that?
The Coast Labor Relations Committee (CLRC) with Cam Williams (Local 19), Frank Ponce de Leon (Local 13), and President Big Baby, have processed fewer grievances than any previous Committees. In part because they changed the procedures to allow them to deny access to the Coast Arbitrator, whenever they feel like it, and made their decision not arbitrable. Also, it is hard to process complaints when Big Baby throws tantrums and walks out of meetings.
Frank Ponce de Leon and Big Baby are refusing to process the following Section 13.3 Complaint; Eric – 13.3 against Coast Appeals Officer appointment inc bkup. A Discrimination Complaint against the CLRC who violated their own Letter of Understanding regarding the hiring of former ILWU attorney, Larry Schwerin, as the Section 13 Coast Appeals Officer. They refuse to say why.
Frank Ponce de Leon and Big Baby are also refusing to process the following Section 13.3 Complaint; Eric – 22 Shift 13.3 Complaint. A Discrimination Complaint against the LA/LB JPLRC, for refusing to enforce the equalization language designed to equalize the earnings of steady men and hall men for all Local Port Supplements. They refuse to say why.
Frank Ponce de Leon, Cam Williams, and Big Baby only process Complaints they feel like processing, and lie about what they are doing with the rest.
Frank, Cam, and Big Baby also lied to the NLRB when they said they had no control over Arbitrator’s Decisions in Section 13.2 Complaints, and the evidence is in the minutes of meeting CLRC 12-15, wherein the Union agreeed to vacate the Miller Order re Eric Aldape penalty. The CLRC minutes prove that the Union has control when they want to.
Funny how Frank, Cam, and Big Baby can agree to vacate Miller’s Order modifying the Decision, but claim they can’t do anything about Miller’s Decision that caused Eric to get time-off in the first place. The Employers requested Miller’s Decision be vacated in the following letter; Eric – PMA letter dated 11-21-12.
It seems that the Union and the PMA have become so accustomed to lying, they forgot how to tell the truth.
If the Union and PMA are willing to lie about something as fundamental as how their grievance procedure works, and how many grievances they handle each year, how can anything they say be taken at face value?
Time for the NLRB to step up and tell the Union and the PMA, it is not nice to lie to the United States Government?
Time for the NLRB to do their job and protect longshore workers from the liars that employ them, and from the liars who claim to represent them?
Does the Retail Federation really expect longshoremen to pass up their opportunity to share in the steamship companies’ profits, so retailers can have no ILWU related supply chain disruptions through 2022?
The answer to that question came from an old school longshoreman, during a labor relations meeting I attended years ago.
Right in the middle of a heated discussion regarding a complicated issue, my friend paused, smiled at the employers, and said; You know, we don’t all wear size 52 shirts and size 2 hats.
JOC.com reports that Evergreen Marine Corporation’s profits rose 15% on the first quarter of 2017, and Yang Ming’s first-quarter volume shot up 14%.
The second JOC.com article says global container traffic posted an average volume growth of 10% for the first three months of the year, with MOL topping out at 17%.
Longshoremen read this stuff, either on the JOC’s website, or my website, or elsewhere.
Longshoremen are NOT stupid, and have a healthy hunger for information. Problem is, the Union is not feeding them.
PMA member companies are posting up to 10% increases in profits in conjunction with up to 17% increases in volume, and they are offering a 3.1% increase in wages. I think the ILWU can get more if they bargain in 2019.
Looks like Local 19 has some demands beyond the take it of leave it 3-year proposal submitted by PMA on April 17, 2017, like their proposal to include Naturopathic medicine in the medical plan.
Caucus Delegate Ventoza did not get the message that PMA’s offer is a non-negotiable offer to increase wages and pensions only, for the next 3 years. He writes about going to a Contract Caucus if the membership approves the PMA offer. That is not going to happen, PMA is not offering to open the contract, they are offering a wage increase only.
How can a Delegate attend a week long meeting and NOT understand that PMA’s offer is limited to the 1 page they submitted to the Union on April 17, 2017?
What did Big Baby tell his members?
Local 23 discussed the extension proposal at their Union meeting and it seems the older longshoremen, like Roger Boespflug are in favor of the extension, because they are afraid of Trump and they do not think the next ILWU President will be up to the task.
The younger Local 23 members were not in favor of accepting the offer, because they think they can do better than the average and they are not afraid of the current Republican leadership. They know that the ILWU did very well at the bargaining table when Nixon was in office, and they had no problems with either Bush when they were President.
The younger members also seem not to be buying the nonsense regarding the next leader of the ILWU not being up to the task of negotiating with PMA.
The younger members are right. The current PMA leadership does not know how to negotiate. If the next ILWU President can chew gum and walk at the same time, he will do just fine. It will be like taking candy from babies.
Local 13 has rented the Pyramid in June to present the PMA extension offer to their membership.
I can hardly wait to hear what Mark Mendoza tells his members. I am wondering if it will be what he thinks, or if it will be what Big Baby tells him to say.
On July 5, 1934, known forever as “Bloody Thursday,” longshoremen did not die for a 35 cent raise.
Longshoremen did not die, for a 6 hour work day.
Longshoremen did not die, for time and a half for overtime.
Longshoremen died on “Bloody Thursday,” for the right to bargain collectively.
Rather than talking about the proud history of the collective bargaining process blazed by the ILWU, Big Baby opened his Caucus last week with an hour long “off the record” discussion about keeping secrets and the internet website that makes him crazy.
Big Baby was incredibly successful at getting his Caucus to keep what they were doing secret, while they were in San Francisco, but now they are back home and talking.
Seems like very few of the Caucus delegates were interested in Big Baby’s “Retailer Federation” 3-year offer of an average wage increase, and some money for some retirees.
Local 10 went on the record as being against the extension, because they want to talk about increases in the widow’s pensions, which at present are 75% of their husbands pay out. By the time 2022 rolls around a lot of the widows they are trying to help will have passed. The 3 years between 2019 and 2022 matter to Local 10 and to the present and future ILWU widows.
Local 23 said they were against presenting the extension to the membership, they want to bargain in 2019.
One of the delegates from the “North” said that the membership was not smart enough to do the right thing. I guess that means he did not want to present the extension proposal.
It is my belief that if the members get all the information, they will do the right thing. It is not that the membership is not smart enough, it is that they are not getting all the information, which is why I do this.
Bobby O Jr. and Sunshine tried to prevent the offer from even being presented to the membership. Bobby tried twice, once at the beginning of the Caucus, claiming the proposal was “shit” and should not be put to any vote, and again right before the vote at the end of the Caucus.
Bobby, Sunshine and a couple of other Local 13 delegates were 2 blocked by Local 13 President, Mark Mendoza, who told his membership he would refuse to accept any proposal that was “shit,” but then for unexplained reasons changed his tune and voted in favor of presenting the offer to the membership.
If Local 13’s May 4, 2017, Regular Union Meeting is used to measure interest, the fact they did not have a quorum says that the membership is not very interested in hearing about the extension, but Mark Mendoza went on with the meeting anyway. It will be up to Union leadership to sell the proposal and to that end Frank Ponce de Leon and Ray Familathe were at the meeting and said the vote was going to be as usual and the ballots would be coming in the mail, but they took no questions related to the extension proposal. It was said delegates would be giving reports in June at the Contract extension proposal meeting.
That’s it, minimal information was given to the membership and no effort to sell the proposal was made at all, by International or Local 13 Officials.
The Caucus did not vote in favor of accepting the offer, they voted in favor of presenting the offer to the membership.
That means the Union is not required to “promote passage” and can just tell the members to vote their conscience.
During debate at the Caucus, 2 reasons were given to accept the “offer.” First, is a ridiculous claim that the next International President will not have the experience needed to negotiate in 2019. Second, was that Local 13 does not want to strike.
So there it is; the ILWU is being asked to give up their right to collectively bargin in 2019, because the next International President will not be up to the task, and Local 13 does not want to strike.
Local 13 does not want to strike in 2019?
Of course they don’t, no one wants to strike!
Those are not good enough reasons to give up on trying to get widows 100% of their husbands pension pay, or the right to collectively bargain over jurisdictional issues and problems with the Medical Plan benefits which are still messed up because of the Port Medical fraud, or the PGP.
The robot docks have been up and running for about 2 years. If the Union gives up the right to bargain for 3 more years it will be too late to make any changes and the membership will be screwed.
Big Baby does not care about any of this, he is retiring, and just wants another Contract under his belt.
Do not let Big Baby do the Grain deal oka doke, again.
Say yes to collective bargaining and vote NO on the Contract extension.
It takes 2 to tango, and both the ILWU and PMA are dancing.
When PMA’s Senior Counsel, Toddler Amidon, was asked whether or not the Contracts have been sent to the printer his response was; “What kind of a relationship do you think we have that you can call me and ask me a question like that?”
I was not sure what to say, because I don’t have to have “a relationship” with a person to be civil and answer a simple factual question, because my parents taught me to treat people the way I would like to be treated.
Something Toddler apparently did not learn.
When I became a man, I stopped acting like a child.
Apparently, Toddler did not, or I just bring out the child in him.
Toddler did however tell someone; “he did not know” if the contracts had gone to the printers.
Seems to me that the Industry better hope that Big Baby gets his members to agree to the extension, because with children like Toddler representing the Employers a repeat of the 2014 debacle is a sure thing.
If the Contracts went to the printers after the ILWU International and PMA were served their latest NLRB charges, they might have to be reprinted before the ink even dries.
Where are the Contract books? It has been over 2-years since the 2014-2019 MOU was ratified!
Every longshoreman knows, you can’t start a new job until you finish the one you are on.
What’s up Big Baby, why are you chiseling?
On Friday, April 28, 2017, the ILWU announced the results of their top secret caucus, and surprise, surprise, the caucus is recommending Big Baby’s 3-year contract extension proposal.
Using his trademark, do everything in secret so as not to have to deal with any objections or questions from anyone outside the room, Big Baby McEllrath was able to pull his grain contract, “This is as good as it gets,” oka doke to bluff and deceive his caucus into agreeing with his extension proposal.
Here is what the oka doke looks like on the ILWU closed Facebook group.
Check out the post from Local 13 Caucus Delegate, Sunshine Garcia.
Sunshine puts in for pay for every “volunteer” job she does “for the Union.” Now she is whining about how hard it is to travel the world in Business Select Class, stay in 4-star hotels and eat at 5-star restaurants, but says not one word about what she was there to do, or what she did, or why the 3-year extension is a good deal. Is it all secret?
What about the PGP?
The reason there are no Contract books today is, Big Baby and Jim McKenna cannot agree on what they agreed to regarding the Pay Guarantee Plan, or PGP.
The Pay Guarantee Plan was Harry’s genius way of allowing the employers to introduce labor saving devices, like forklifts and cranes, while guaranteeing ILWU members “their piece of the pie.”
I do not know what the exact problem is with the PGP, but if it is big enough to prevent the Contract books from being printed for over 2-years, it is probably worth taking about in 2019.
With the robots and computers eliminating jobs by the hundreds, seems to me that the ILWU should be very interested in what is happening with the PGP.
It does not matter how much an hour you make if you are NOT working, but it DOES matter how much PGP you are getting if you are NOT working!
According to the 2008 -2014 PCLCD the Pay Guarantee Plan reads as follows:
Section 20.2 Benefits. Effective with the beginning of the third payroll quarter of 1987, PGP benefits for Class A employees shall be a maximum of 38 hours pay each week; PGP benefits for Class B employees who have 5 or more vacation qualifying years as of the preceding April 1 shall be a maximum of 38 hours pay each week; PGP benefits for Class B employees with less than 5 vacation qualifying years as of the preceding April 1 shall be a maximum of 28 hours pay each week. The hourly rate of PGP pay shall be the employee’s appropriate straight time rate of pay as provided under Section 4.13. (PGP will reflect any increases in the basic longshore rates, Memorandum of Understanding dated November 23, 2003)
According to the 2014-2019 MOU the Pay Guarantee Plan reads as follows:
Section 20.2 Benefits. Effective with the ratification of the contract, PGP benefits for Class A employees shall be a maximum of 40 hours pay each week; PGP benefits for Class B employees who have 5 or more vacation qualifying years as of the preceding April 1 shall be a maximum of 40 hours pay each week; PGP benefits for Class B employees with less than 5 vacation qualifying years as of the preceding April 1 shall be a maximum of 32 hours pay each week. The hourly rate of PGP pay shall be the employee’s appropriate straight time rate of pay as provided under Section 4.13.
Seems like a good deal to me, but why are the Contract books not printed?
This is just one of the reasons that Big Baby kept a super tight lid on what was happening at the Caucus. WHY?
Lets look at the raises proposed for the next 3-years.
The average raise in the 2014-2019 MOU was $1.30 per year.
The proposed raise for the next 3-years is $1.31 in 2019, $1.35 in 2020, and $1.39 in 2021.
That is 1 cent above average in the 1st year, 5 cents above average in the 2nd year, and 9 cents above average in the 3rd year.
That is 15 cents above average over 3 years.
The cranes are getting taller, the ships age getting bigger, the bridge is getting raised, every one is making lots of money, and Big Baby is agreeable to settling for 15 cents over the average increase for the next 3-years, because he gets his retirement and another Contract under his belt.
The history of the ILWU/PMA negotiations suggests that the Union will get at least a 3.1% increase in wages if they bargain in 2019, but it is not about the money. It is about jurisdiction and benefits. The Benefits Plan is still messed up due to the Port Medical fraud, and Big Baby and the Coast are trying to protect the members responsible for the fraud.
Does anyone think the Union can get more than 15 cents over the next 3-years, if they bargain in 2019?
I do, and I know I am not alone.
Harry’s Local, the Mother Local, Local 10 agrees, which is why their membership said no way to extending the Contract.
