Check out the latest JOC article where Jim McKenna blames the “bargaining model” because he does not know how to negotiate.
PMA’s McKenna: West Coast port bargaining needs changes | JOC.com
West Coast bargaining has been working fine since 1934. Just because Jim McKenna does not know how to negotiate, does not mean the bargaining needs to change.
Granted, dealing with a guy that ties his women and children to the railroad tracks, like Big Bob did during the Grain Negotiations, and a guy that throws tantrums and major rants on a regular basis, is not the easiest thing to do, but it is what needs to be done and Jim McKenna does not know how to do it.
Making under the table side agreements to pay crane drivers in LA crane pay when they work other than crane jobs, and making those payments in dollars without reporting hours, so as to avoid benefits assessments, is not how to do it.
Allowing Big Bob to pursue his personal vendetta to get rid of David Miller, for absolutely no good reason, and agreeing to gut the Arbitration system that has served the Industry since 1934, is not how it is done.
Agreeing to a chassis safety inspection procedure that forbids mechanics from actually visually inspecting brake components, before sending those chassis on to public highways, is not how it is done.
Big Bob will be gone before the next contract is negotiated, and hopefully so will Jim McKenna, so who really cares what he thinks?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.