Post by dockside on Nov 3, 2008 7:37:16 GMT -5
November 2, 2008
Truckers, Port Workers Say New TWIC No Treat
By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff
Ernie Casper has a vision for the Delaware River ports come Dec. 30.
"I see fruit rotting on the docks, ships waiting to be loaded, prices sky high in the supermarkets, tractor trailers backed up onto roadways," said Casper, manager of DelMonte Fresh Produce, which operates a busy fruit terminal at the Broadway marine terminal in Camden.
"It'll be the perfect storm," Casper promised about the start date for a mandatory government identification program that he predicts will paralyze an already tanked economy.
About one-third of an estimated 1.2 million seaport workers in the nation who are required to obtain the new credential -- a Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) -- from the federal Transportation Security Administration have received them, said Leslie Holoweiko, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin, which is managing the card program.
Without a card, they are not allowed to enter the port; hence Casper's concern for cargo-carrying truckers.
The card costs $132.50, must be renewed every five years and contains a biometric fingerprint. Of that, Lockheed Martin collects $43.25, up to $70 million, to cover its expenses.
TSA is staggering compliance by region. New England ports were ordered to have their estimated 25,000 workers signed up by Oct. 15. About 50,000 permanent and seasonal workers serving the tri-state ports along the Delaware River are required to have a TWIC in hand by Dec. 30.
The government's long-range goal is to create a national registry of all transportation workers, including those in rail, road, air and mass transit. Seaports became a priority two years ago when Dubai, a small, oil-rich member of the United Arab Emirates, was set to buy long-term leases to six major U.S. ports. Members of Congress and the public decried the sale for national security reasons and Dubai bowed out, ending a potential political maelstrom.
The notion of a national security card for people working in ports of entry, such as airports, bus terminals, train stations and seaports, began shortly after 9/11. Since then, the federal government has spent about $108 million refining the idea until this month's debut in New England, said TSA spokesman Greg Soule.
While many stakeholders in the region's ports are ready for Dec. 30, Casper said independent truckers are not.
"They either don't know about it or have refused to buy in. Many, I'm told, don't have cards in hand because of protracted delays in processing," Casper said at a meeting attended by about 100 members of the regional port community.
Patrick J. Hemphill, manager of port security for the Port of Wilmington, said the system will self-destruct.
"What the government doesn't get is these truckers who don't have cards and can't unload will shut the economy down," he said.
Hosting the three-hour workshop in Philadelphia was Coast Guard Capt. David L. Scott, who is charged with enforcing TWIC compliance through spot checks in the eight ports between New Castle, Del., and Chester, Pa.
Despite written and spoken entreaties from various terminal operators and tenants, such as the Holt group, which is gearing up for the Chilean fruit season at the Gloucester Marine Terminal in Gloucester City, Scott emphasized the deadline is firm. Rather than slap fines on violators, he said he is looking for port operators trying to comply with the spirit of the law.
"It's the law and we will get through this," Scott said. "It's a game-changer in the industry that is challenging and, no doubt, will cost money. Let's not get too freaked out. I am not in a fine mind-set, nor do I want to restrict commerce. I am looking for creative solutions that we can apply cooperatively and fairly."
Like his colleagues -- from terminal operators to oil refiners and cocoa bean distributors -- Casper called the law impractical.
Under the law, workers without valid TWIC cards by Dec. 30 will require a personal escort into secure areas.
That means a hired escort must sit in the cab of any uncredentialed trucker until the truck is unloaded and out of the port. Port operators not in compliance could face fines ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.
"If a driver has to wait five or six hours to unload, I gotta pay somebody to watch him sleep in his cab. Has anybody considered our right to even sit in those cabs? This is just too crazy," Casper said.
Large trucking firms with company-owned fleets support a national credential and are ready, said Boyd Stephenson, security manager for the American Trucking Association.
Norita Taylor, spokeswoman for Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, said less than 10 percent of the estimated 1.5 million long-haul drivers in the nation have applied for TWIC.
"We hear lots of grumbling about redundancy because drivers have to go through the same background checks for their commercial licenses, which is probably why so many have not applied," Taylor said. "They're also unhappy with the cost and time because you have to go to the same TWIC center twice."
Michael A. Leone, director of the Port of Boston, said he was able to launch the TWIC program Oct. 15 with little disruption.
"We didn't clog any streets," he said. "The first day we turned away 15 trucks, the second four and every day since it's been an odd truck here or there. We got the word out that we would not provide escorts and that an application in process was not good enough. A valid card or no entry. I've heard stories that it took anywhere from seven days to seven months to get cards."
The key, Leone said, is information and planning. The port conducted several TWIC simulation days in advance of the deadline to assess how many workers did not have cards and to urge them personally to get one.
The port also reconfigured its entrance gates, so an uncredentialed driver would not hold up a long line of compliant ones. Boston handles about 700 trucks per day.
For eight months, huge banners hung in and around the port saying, "No TWIC, No Entry."
Elizabeth Reid, a DeLoitte consultant in charge of training port personnel, urged area workers -- from chaplains to chandlers -- to apply now.
The average turnaround time from application to picking up the card is three to four weeks. Applicants who may have something suspicious in their past should allow 60 days for clearance.
"The closer we get to the deadline, the longer the wait will be," she said.
Reach Eileen Stilwell at (856) 486-2464 or estilwell@courierpostonline.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Truckers, Port Workers Say New TWIC No Treat
By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff
Ernie Casper has a vision for the Delaware River ports come Dec. 30.
"I see fruit rotting on the docks, ships waiting to be loaded, prices sky high in the supermarkets, tractor trailers backed up onto roadways," said Casper, manager of DelMonte Fresh Produce, which operates a busy fruit terminal at the Broadway marine terminal in Camden.
"It'll be the perfect storm," Casper promised about the start date for a mandatory government identification program that he predicts will paralyze an already tanked economy.
About one-third of an estimated 1.2 million seaport workers in the nation who are required to obtain the new credential -- a Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) -- from the federal Transportation Security Administration have received them, said Leslie Holoweiko, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin, which is managing the card program.
Without a card, they are not allowed to enter the port; hence Casper's concern for cargo-carrying truckers.
The card costs $132.50, must be renewed every five years and contains a biometric fingerprint. Of that, Lockheed Martin collects $43.25, up to $70 million, to cover its expenses.
TSA is staggering compliance by region. New England ports were ordered to have their estimated 25,000 workers signed up by Oct. 15. About 50,000 permanent and seasonal workers serving the tri-state ports along the Delaware River are required to have a TWIC in hand by Dec. 30.
The government's long-range goal is to create a national registry of all transportation workers, including those in rail, road, air and mass transit. Seaports became a priority two years ago when Dubai, a small, oil-rich member of the United Arab Emirates, was set to buy long-term leases to six major U.S. ports. Members of Congress and the public decried the sale for national security reasons and Dubai bowed out, ending a potential political maelstrom.
The notion of a national security card for people working in ports of entry, such as airports, bus terminals, train stations and seaports, began shortly after 9/11. Since then, the federal government has spent about $108 million refining the idea until this month's debut in New England, said TSA spokesman Greg Soule.
While many stakeholders in the region's ports are ready for Dec. 30, Casper said independent truckers are not.
"They either don't know about it or have refused to buy in. Many, I'm told, don't have cards in hand because of protracted delays in processing," Casper said at a meeting attended by about 100 members of the regional port community.
Patrick J. Hemphill, manager of port security for the Port of Wilmington, said the system will self-destruct.
"What the government doesn't get is these truckers who don't have cards and can't unload will shut the economy down," he said.
Hosting the three-hour workshop in Philadelphia was Coast Guard Capt. David L. Scott, who is charged with enforcing TWIC compliance through spot checks in the eight ports between New Castle, Del., and Chester, Pa.
Despite written and spoken entreaties from various terminal operators and tenants, such as the Holt group, which is gearing up for the Chilean fruit season at the Gloucester Marine Terminal in Gloucester City, Scott emphasized the deadline is firm. Rather than slap fines on violators, he said he is looking for port operators trying to comply with the spirit of the law.
"It's the law and we will get through this," Scott said. "It's a game-changer in the industry that is challenging and, no doubt, will cost money. Let's not get too freaked out. I am not in a fine mind-set, nor do I want to restrict commerce. I am looking for creative solutions that we can apply cooperatively and fairly."
Like his colleagues -- from terminal operators to oil refiners and cocoa bean distributors -- Casper called the law impractical.
Under the law, workers without valid TWIC cards by Dec. 30 will require a personal escort into secure areas.
That means a hired escort must sit in the cab of any uncredentialed trucker until the truck is unloaded and out of the port. Port operators not in compliance could face fines ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.
"If a driver has to wait five or six hours to unload, I gotta pay somebody to watch him sleep in his cab. Has anybody considered our right to even sit in those cabs? This is just too crazy," Casper said.
Large trucking firms with company-owned fleets support a national credential and are ready, said Boyd Stephenson, security manager for the American Trucking Association.
Norita Taylor, spokeswoman for Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, said less than 10 percent of the estimated 1.5 million long-haul drivers in the nation have applied for TWIC.
"We hear lots of grumbling about redundancy because drivers have to go through the same background checks for their commercial licenses, which is probably why so many have not applied," Taylor said. "They're also unhappy with the cost and time because you have to go to the same TWIC center twice."
Michael A. Leone, director of the Port of Boston, said he was able to launch the TWIC program Oct. 15 with little disruption.
"We didn't clog any streets," he said. "The first day we turned away 15 trucks, the second four and every day since it's been an odd truck here or there. We got the word out that we would not provide escorts and that an application in process was not good enough. A valid card or no entry. I've heard stories that it took anywhere from seven days to seven months to get cards."
The key, Leone said, is information and planning. The port conducted several TWIC simulation days in advance of the deadline to assess how many workers did not have cards and to urge them personally to get one.
The port also reconfigured its entrance gates, so an uncredentialed driver would not hold up a long line of compliant ones. Boston handles about 700 trucks per day.
For eight months, huge banners hung in and around the port saying, "No TWIC, No Entry."
Elizabeth Reid, a DeLoitte consultant in charge of training port personnel, urged area workers -- from chaplains to chandlers -- to apply now.
The average turnaround time from application to picking up the card is three to four weeks. Applicants who may have something suspicious in their past should allow 60 days for clearance.
"The closer we get to the deadline, the longer the wait will be," she said.
Reach Eileen Stilwell at (856) 486-2464 or estilwell@courierpostonline.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
