Brothers and Sisters, I want to begin by wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year. I hope you enjoyed some well-deserved time with family and friends over the holidays. I also want to thank the many ILWU members who donated holiday toys to children from families facing hard times. Your efforts brought joy to thousands of working-class families who are struggling to survive in this economy that leaves out so many.
Now that 2016 has arrived, I’d like to share some reflections on the past year and look ahead to the future of the ILWU.
Last year we faced some challenges that tested our resolve. This was especially true for thousands of longshore workers who fought a lengthy contract fight that we settled last February. Although that agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by rank-and-file members, the story didn’t end there.
Our success triggered a backlash by big business interests who brought their antiunion legislative proposals to Congress as soon as we settled the contract. Their goal was to weaken our union by stripping away rights secured 80 years ago by the courageous generation of waterfront workers who endured bitter strikes and gave their lives to win better working conditions and establish our union. Back then, employers and their political friends always accused union members of hurting the economy. Unfortunately, not much has changed.
Today, we’re facing different fights, but the fundamentals remain unchanged, including unfair claims that dockworkers were solely responsible for all delays on the docks last year—while ignoring the root causes of industry-created congestion.
The unfair claims were repeated late last year when two members of Congress tried to amend an important transportation bill with proposals that would have forced dockworkers to operate at unsafe speeds. Fortunately, both amendments were defeated. Representative Dan Newhouse of Washington State withdrew his antiILWU proposal due to lack of support, and an amendment proposed by fellow Washington State Republican Dave Reichert was defeated in the House of Representatives.
This victory was possible because of a unified response from our rank-and-file longshore workers and important help from our longtime friends and allies. We also benefited from the hard work from our Longshore Legislative Action Committee and support from our new ally and former Speaker of the House, Dick Gephardt.
After the bad amendments were defeated, Newhouse introduced another piece of anti-ILWU legislation called the “Economics Act,” co-authored by antiunion Democrat Kurt Schrader of Oregon. Their bill would encourage federal court injunctions to break our union along with metrics legislation that could dangerously speed up work on the docks. Should similar legislation appear in Congress, the ILWU will be well informed and ready to fight.
One benefit from this experience was witnessing the impressive mobilization by individual longshore members. When the ILWU Longshore Division issued coordinated Action Alerts to members by email, fax and – for the first time, social media – hundreds of you responded by making phone calls to key members of Congressional committees, and your voices were heard.
This experiment to activate members on a large scale by using Facebook was a success, and we will continue to use social media when Longshore voices need to make a difference. To be successful, we ask that members listen to their local officers for updates—and follow the ILWU Coast Longshore Division’s page on Facebook. When the Coast officers post an Action Alert on Facebook, please respond immediately by contacting your elected officials in Congress and respectfully urging them to vote according to our Action Alert instructions. To increase the impact, please share these alerts with your friends, family and co-workers.
Another issue to watch in Congress this year is the tax on health care plans that’s scheduled to take effect in 2018. It’s unfairly called the “Cadillac tax” and was aimed primarily at union members who negotiated excellent health care benefits, such as longshore workers. When it was first proposed to be part of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), I urged other union leaders and the AFLCIO brass to oppose any tax because we wanted a single-payer health care system. Unfortunately, only one other union was willing to take that step, so the Cadillac tax went forward. The good news is that many unions and even some business groups now share our concern and pushed Congress late last year to delay the tax until 2020. We will continue the fight to remove the tax entirely, and presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have both pledged to oppose the tax if elected.
2016 is an election year, which gives us the opportunity to elect a friendly Congress and President. The Titled Officers have created a survey that’s being sent to candidates, asking where they stand on issues that matter most to ILWU members, including union rights, Social Security and Medicare, single-payer health care—and how to make America’s economy work for everyone—not just fat-cats on Wall Street. The results of this survey will be shared with the ILWU International Executive Board in March as well as published in an article in The Dispatcher, the ILWU website, and Facebook. If there’s a decision to endorse, the Titled Officers will be sure every member receives information about any candidate who deserves special consideration by ILWU members.
Make no mistake, the legislative attack on us, orchestrated by Big Business, will continue in 2016 and beyond. To repel these attacks and make economic and social gains, the ILWU must be fully engaged in the political process. Later this year we will be asking you to contribute to the ILWU Political Action Fund, which enables us to support candidates who fight for what we need and want.
The challenges facing union members and the working class in 2016 are considerable. That being said, 2016 is a new year for the ILWU. We are back to work without the distraction of longshore negotiations. We will continue to protect our jobs and jurisdiction and the ILWU will remain a staple on the west coast for generations to come. If we can stick together and help each other, we can help revive the labor movement and continue to progress as a union.
An injury to one is an injury to all.
In solidarity,
Robert McEllrath
International President.
Local 21 members honored for Columbia River rescue
LONGVIEW, Wash.—Three Local 21 members were honored last month by the Port of Longview for rescuing a mariner who fell overboard into the Columbia River on December 31.
The incident happened at 11 o’clock in the morning on New Year’s Eve day when it was still bitter cold at Berth 2 where the vessel “Sadlers Wells” was being loaded with soda ash.
Local 21 members Kelly Palmer and Laik Kell were about to check the choke feeder controlling the flow of soda ash filling the ship, when they noticed panic spreading among the vessel crewmembers who were frantically pointing down into the water.
The loud noise of the loading machinery made it difficult to hear, but a co-worker told Palmer that somebody had apparently fallen into the river. Palmer and Kell raced down a ramp to the river’s edge where they met co-worker Mikel Ford.
The three began searching, but it was hard to see anyone floating among the mass of river debris that collected among the pilings in an area shaded by the ship. They spotted a hard hat, but still couldn’t find anyone nearby. After more searching, they discovered a man who was soaking wet, shivering and clinging to one of the pilings. He wasn’t wearing a lifejacket, spoke little English and declined to provide his name, but the three longshoremen maneuvered over obstacles that helped him reach the shore. They later learned that the man was the ship’s first officer who had been working on the vessel deck when he slipped on some ice that sent him falling 20 feet into the frigid river.
The ceremony to thank the three longshore workers at the Port Commission meeting took place on January 26. Kelly Palmer and Mikel Ford were able to attend while Laik Kell had to remain on the job. Commissioners presented the men with certificates and thanked them for their efforts.
Longshoremen Mikel Ford (left) and Kelly Palmer were formally recognized by the Port of Longview on January 26 for helping rescue a merchant mariner who fell into the freezing Columbia River on Dec 31. Not pictured is Local 21 member Laik Kell who also assisted.