good provisions here that protect transportation workers, that protect the communities around the ports and rail hubs, airports and that protect the nation as well from terrorism.

There is a requirement that the employers are finally going to have to start increasing their inspections of cargo and containerized cargo. For example, employers are going to have to do a regular inspection of all seals on containers, which was another point of the ILWU position that got adopted. Every container that comes into and out of a facility, or on to or off of a vessel, has to be checked for the integrity of the seal.

The new laws also require regular inventory updates—to have people going in and out of the yards continually doing inventory updates. Now these last two things that I mentioned—seal inspection and inventory updates—this is going to improve security. It’s also going to provide for more work opportunities for workers, especially clerks that are working in longshore industries. It will also provide more opportunity in terms of documentation for people in the office clerical support and data support parts of the transportation industries. The new law requires affirmatively training for workers.

Until we came up with the idea and pressed them, there was nothing about evacuation. You’re talking about all this potential terrorism and security, what about the idea of having a plan that the employers are required to share with workers and train them about how the heck to get out of a facility if there is an incident. How about requiring that? What about something better—how about requiring worker input in how to make their jobs safe? What about the notion of not just having workers subject to this but if you’re going to institute this new regime of security, have it for everybody including management. It also requires inspection of people, cars and other items coming in and out of these facilities at any time for any reason without probable cause, so be forewarned.

Labor rights 
How does all of this impact labor rights? There are some good and bad in terms of labor rights here. The Coast Guard regulations specifically state that access to these facilities by union representatives is “encouraged”. That’s the word they use. Throughout the regulations and in the notice it talks about the positive role that labor can play and even identifies organized labor as a “stake-holder” that has a legitimate interest in dealing with these industries. Union representatives are going to be subject to the same requirements. If you don’t have a “TWIC” identification card then you’re not going to be allowed access without an escort.

There’s all sorts of issues about how these new security measures are going to change working conditions more directly for workers and unions. Every employer that’s affected in the transportation industry has to develop and submit for approval to the government a security plan that contains all sorts of items in there, but each plan can be different according to the circumstances of the facility. What the employer puts in that plan may be in conflict with the collective bargaining agreement. So there’re real dangers of unilateral changes being made by employers. There is a huge, huge risk that economic action, collective concerted action such as strikes, slow-downs, work by rule, safety programs, may be coming to the point where they’re outlawed.

Here’s some of the language that they use for supporting the security provisions and why they’re doing what they’re doing. First, it’s important to remember that with these transportation cards you have to pass a background test and if you have certain felonies you’re disqualified. In addition to the felonies, if you’re also considered by the government to be a security risk, they can deny you the card. There’s no specifics or criteria on how the government determines who is a security risk. Is someone who disrupts commerce a security risk? Is someone who organizes a strike a security risk? Is someone who’s picketing and slowing down the flow of cargo a security risk? The law says people can be disqualified for engaging in a severe transportation security incident which is defined as, “an incident resulting in a significant loss of life, environmental damage, transportation system disruption, or economic disruption in a particular area.” So they’re now identifying for security purposes any kind of economic disruption to the transportation system of the nation and the world.

They even get more clear and more specific to the ILWU. In the regulations that were issued in July of this year for the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration which are now departments of Homeland Security, they identified last year’s West Coast ILWU labor struggle as being part of the analysis of security for the ports and for transportation. Here’s some of the highlights of what they said— ”Maritime commerce is the lifeblood of the modern U.S. trade-based economy, touching virtually every sector of our daily business and personal activities . . . The macroeconomics effects of the recent shutdown of West Coast ports, while not in response to a security threat, are a good example of the economic costs that we could experience when a threat would necessitate broadbased port closures.”

Then they talk about certain “war games” that have been played by business and government agencies using a terrorist threat as a hypothetical situation to anticipate. I don’t remember getting a notice about being asked to participate in the war game. I don’t think any of you did either. But believe me your employers in the transportation industry did. Here’s the zinger. Here’s their closure on why they are bringing up a labor dispute with regard to national security and antiterrorism measures. They close this by saying, “Regardless, the economic hardship suffered by industry, labor, and the loss of public welfare due to a sustained nationwide port shutdown may have as significant an effect on the U.S. as the act of terror itself.”

I just want to repeat that concept because it’s like a mathematical formula here. The idea that an economic shutdown or disruption has the same effect as an act of terrorism. The law doesn’t specifically nail this down but it’s chilling, chilling stuff here. It could get worse. There’s a piece of this legislation that had all sorts of criminal provisions in it, that made it a crime to engage in acts of terrorism and disruption of any part of the transportation system. It punished offenders by life in prison and the death penalty.

Congress is really big on the death penalty now for just about everything, especially in the drug war. Very big on that. It uses these same terms. That’s the problem. A major economic disruption could be a crime. We fought like hell to get that out and we succeeded, but like monsters always tend to do, it’s been resurrected. It’s coming back. There’s pieces of legislation that are percolating in Congress right now that could be very repressive if organized labor uses any economic action in these areas. I know that a lot of you are not in the transportation industry, but what goes for one so goes for the rest eventually. At least that seems to be the tendency throughout history. It doesn’t have to go that way. We have to fight it.

What can we do? 

You have to know your rights. You have to get up on the law. You have to know what these regulations are. You got to know what’s coming down as well. You have to monitor and enforce. There are certain security provisions which are good, which will help provide real protection and which will also allow for extra work opportunity. It’s going to cost the employers money and they’re going to try and slither out of it whenever and wherever they can and we’ve got to be on top of these things.

You have to be familiar with these port security plans. Get in your employer’s face and find out what’s going on with these plans and make damned sure that they negotiate with the union and with the workers before any changes are made that may affect working terms and conditions. The law requires local port security committees be established. Most of them already are in existence in virtually all ports. The law does not require that union representatives be included on these committees, but it recommends that they be included. We’re pushing hard for an actual mandate. In the meantime the experience seems to be that where local unions are active and are assertive, they get on these committees and then you know what’s happening and you’re able to monitor and you’re able to influence where all of this goes. It’s critically important to do that at the local level.

It’s also important on the local and national level to continue the lobbying effort that the ILWU started in terms of dealing with potential port security issues.

Editors note: the full text of the final National Maritime Security rules published by the Coast Guard on October 22, 2003 can be found at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/ 2422/14mar20010800/ edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03- 26345.htm

[Federal Register: October 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 204)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 60447-60472] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22oc03-11]  

Will you do it?—McElrath, continued from page 5

clear thinking and made cowards of many of us.

Peace, in light of the Bush principle of preemptive action, remains paramount. We can ill afford adventures in Iran, North Korea and other countries in our role as the world’s policeman intent on realizing the dreams of empire, as codified in the 2002 new “National Security Strategy of the United States of America”

The challenges facing all of us are many and daunting. You may well ask “What’s in it for me; what can little old me do?”

There’s a lot you can do; in concert with other working people, with all the mothers and fathers and children of this world in international solidarity we can live in peace, with enough food to eat, enough water to drink, not incidentally, the bottled water which has become a major moneymaking adventure for water companies when water should be free; you can all hide the bottled water that you now have, health care when needed; education for children.

Will you do your part with other workers and families in Hawaii, in the United States, in the rest of the world.

Will you add zest and zing to your lives; are you willing to become a leader; are you willing to turn that kaleidescope around and be challenged by the different views the shards provide with each turn.

Are you willing to carry the torch your ancestors lit for unions, still the only social organization in whose hands workers can manage to control the conditions of work which defines you and all other workers who produce the goods and services, the art and music, the literature and dance which nourish the human spirit and mind in freedom and love and with equality and justice. 

Will you do it?