International Longshore and Warehouse Union Archives - Page 3 of 3

COVID outbreak could cripple California container ports

22 January 2021

Los Angeles County is at the epicenter of the current COVID surge. That county’s Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex is simultaneously at the epicenter of America’s import surge. These two spikes are now converging as hundreds of California dockworkers catch COVID.

The doomsday scenario — COVID-induced terminal closures in California at the very height of the import boom — is generally considered unlikely. But it’s being openly talked about.

“If the catastrophic infection rates continue, there...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covid-outbreak-could-cripple-california-container-ports

Seroka: Port of LA ‘stayed the course’ during difficult 2020

14 January 2021

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka delivered a State of the Port address Thursday that reflected on Americans’ resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic while looking ahead to economic resurgence.

Seroka said that despite the “unexpected events” of 2020, the port accomplished or significantly advanced all of the priorities he laid out in his address last year. Focus on such priorities as workplace diversity, supply chain optimization, drayage efficiency, zero-emissions equipment...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/seroka-port-of-la-stayed-the-course-during-difficult-2020

Port of Beirut officials under house arrest following explosion

7 August 2020

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) President Willie Adams said he was not surprised to learn Port of Beirut officials had been taken into custody in connection with Tuesday’s devastating warehouse explosion.

“Reports that the Lebanese government has put port authorities under house arrest while investigating the dubious storage of these explosive materials on the docks since 2014 and the likelihood that these deaths were preventable are deeply disturbing but not surprising...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/port-of-beirut-officials-under-house-arrest-following-explosion

ILWU: Don’t blame labor for ports’ market share drop

17 July 2020

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently has received two written pleas to take action to prevent the state’s port industry from losing more market share. While the writers agree something must be done to stop the flow of business to ports on the East and Gulf coasts, they do not entirely agree on the causes of the loss.

Fifty-two organizations led by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) sent a letter to Newsom on Monday that said, in part, that importers began taking their business...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ilwu:-dont-blame-labor-for-ports-market-share-drop

Career Tracks: Fifth-generation dockworker appointed to harbor board

29 June 2020

Fifth-generation dockworker and union leader Bobby Olvera Jr. participated in his first meeting last week as a member of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners.

Olvera, appointed to the board in May by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, also serves as international vice president (mainland) of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

The Long Beach City Council unanimously confirmed Olvera to complete the term of Lou Anne Bynum that expires in June 2021. Bynum resigned from the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/career-tracks-fifth-generation-dockworker-appointed-to-harbor-board

APM Terminals Pier 400 LA sets container-handling record

19 June 2020

APM Terminals Pier 400 handled a record-setting 18,465 container moves from a vessel longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall at the Port of Los Angeles this week.

The container moves, crane lifts to or from a cargo vessel, transferred the equivalent of 34,263 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

“This is a world record. APMT and longshore labor deployed six days’ worth of activities using 12 shifts of skilled labor, with a productivity level of more than 128 berth moves per hour and 30 crane moves...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/apm-terminals-pier-400-la-sets-container-handling-record

Trade war, pandemic take bite out of french fry orders

17 June 2020

The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, exported 67,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) — $800 million worth — of frozen french fries in 2019.

The trade war with China and the coronavirus pandemic have taken a bite out of those exports.

“We usually grow about 165,000 acres of potatoes in Washington state. That will net close to 10 billion pounds of potatoes,” said Matt Harris, director of government affairs and assistant executive director of the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/trade-war-pandemic-take-bite-out-of-french-fry-orders

VIDEO: Grand opening of the ILWU Local 13 Dispatch Hall

5 October 2018

From the Port of Los Angeles:

ILWU longshore workers were joined by elected officials, dignitaries and others on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 for the opening of the newly constructed Dispatch Hall at the Port of Los Angeles in Wilmington. Click on the image above to watch the 2-minute video by the Port...

http://www.longshoreshippingnews.com/2018/10/video-grand-opening-of-the-ilwu-local-13-dispatch-hall/

Veterinary workers rally for union in SF

29 September 2018

From Liberation News:

A crowd of 50 people and their pets rallied outside the VCA San Francisco Veterinary Specialists on Sept 27 in support of their newly formed union affiliated with the ILWU. The union vote marked the first time a group of veterinary workers in the country formed an ILWU-affiliated union. Union members and community supporters formed a picket line outside the animal hospital, demanding accountability and better work conditions.

Workers at VCA are fighting back against unfair...

http://www.longshoreshippingnews.com/2018/09/veterinary-workers-rally-for-union-in-sf/

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