Post by HardTimeTrucker on Mar 7, 2009 16:55:37 GMT -5
Union leader: Proposal is 'Improbable,' 'Illegal'
By Allyson Bird
The Post and Courier
On the eve of the International Longshoremen's Association elections, Local 1422 president Ken Riley poked fun at a packed Propeller Club of the Port of Charleston's lunch meeting.
"When Ken Riley addresses the Propeller Club, the port must be in crisis," he said.
Brad Nettles
The Post and Courier
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422 President Ken Riley answers a question Thursday.
His previous speeches followed a police-dockworker clash over a shippingline's decision to use non-union labor and a rumored strike over union pensions.
On Thursday, most everyone in the room at The Citadel's Altman Athletic Center wanted to hear about the latest drama playing out at the port, this one starring Maersk Line.
The Danish container carrier, the port's largest customer, intends to pull all its business from Charleston by late 2010 if it cannot reach a cost-saving arrangement with the State Ports Authority.
It was proposed that Maersk be moved from a dedicated area of the Wando Welch Terminal to the "common use" area, where SPA employees would handle work typically allocated to union labor. The ILA rejected that proposal.
In his brief remarks about Maersk, Riley said the SPA and the company discussed the situation for more than a year before approaching union officials. He called their proposal "improbable and, under contract, illegal."
Riley said the Maersk situation had little to do with the ILA, but rather stemmed from the company's overly ambitious and ultimately unsustainable contract with the SPA.
Riley said representatives of all three parties — the SPA, the ILA and Maersk subsidiary APM Terminals — will meet again Monday to consider "a more reasonable approach."
Riley pointed out that the common-use area began as an incubator for smaller businesses to grow in Charleston. Those companies were supposed to move out after expanding and let the ILA work their cargo.
In the future, Riley stressed, the ILA will demand that all existing work rules be strictly enforced to protect its "jurisdiction" on the waterfront.
SPA interim chief executive John Hassell said the ILA has the contractual right to process all containers as they enter and leave the agency's docks. He said the union intends to take over that job, which now is handled by state employees.
"When that time comes, we will just have to work together to make that happen," Hassell said after Riley's remarks.
Riley said the ILA and its employers soon will begin negotiations on a new East Coast contract. The current contract expires Sept. 30, 2010.
Among the changes he hopes for: eliminating tiered wages so workers can see higher pay sooner and changing benefits so workers' health insurance is no longer based solely on the number of hours worked.
"By our estimation, this list of demands will add billions of dollars in additional costs," Riley said.
He said the future of the port, from an ILA perspective, is in public-private partnerships, distribution centers and using North Charleston facilities to their full potential.
By Allyson Bird
The Post and Courier
On the eve of the International Longshoremen's Association elections, Local 1422 president Ken Riley poked fun at a packed Propeller Club of the Port of Charleston's lunch meeting.
"When Ken Riley addresses the Propeller Club, the port must be in crisis," he said.
Brad Nettles
The Post and Courier
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422 President Ken Riley answers a question Thursday.
His previous speeches followed a police-dockworker clash over a shippingline's decision to use non-union labor and a rumored strike over union pensions.
On Thursday, most everyone in the room at The Citadel's Altman Athletic Center wanted to hear about the latest drama playing out at the port, this one starring Maersk Line.
The Danish container carrier, the port's largest customer, intends to pull all its business from Charleston by late 2010 if it cannot reach a cost-saving arrangement with the State Ports Authority.
It was proposed that Maersk be moved from a dedicated area of the Wando Welch Terminal to the "common use" area, where SPA employees would handle work typically allocated to union labor. The ILA rejected that proposal.
In his brief remarks about Maersk, Riley said the SPA and the company discussed the situation for more than a year before approaching union officials. He called their proposal "improbable and, under contract, illegal."
Riley said the Maersk situation had little to do with the ILA, but rather stemmed from the company's overly ambitious and ultimately unsustainable contract with the SPA.
Riley said representatives of all three parties — the SPA, the ILA and Maersk subsidiary APM Terminals — will meet again Monday to consider "a more reasonable approach."
Riley pointed out that the common-use area began as an incubator for smaller businesses to grow in Charleston. Those companies were supposed to move out after expanding and let the ILA work their cargo.
In the future, Riley stressed, the ILA will demand that all existing work rules be strictly enforced to protect its "jurisdiction" on the waterfront.
SPA interim chief executive John Hassell said the ILA has the contractual right to process all containers as they enter and leave the agency's docks. He said the union intends to take over that job, which now is handled by state employees.
"When that time comes, we will just have to work together to make that happen," Hassell said after Riley's remarks.
Riley said the ILA and its employers soon will begin negotiations on a new East Coast contract. The current contract expires Sept. 30, 2010.
Among the changes he hopes for: eliminating tiered wages so workers can see higher pay sooner and changing benefits so workers' health insurance is no longer based solely on the number of hours worked.
"By our estimation, this list of demands will add billions of dollars in additional costs," Riley said.
He said the future of the port, from an ILA perspective, is in public-private partnerships, distribution centers and using North Charleston facilities to their full potential.