Notice of Contract Meetings
Members who wish to run for the open wage scale delegate positions must attend three out of five contract meetings at the union hall. The purpose is to help members prepare demands for membership approval and understand the issues.

• Wages and benefits (Friday,11/14/08 3pm - 6pm)

• Safety and Work Rules (Friday,11/21/08 3pm - 6pm)
• *Hiring and Absentee Policy DATE CHANGED to Tuesday, 11/25/08, 3pm - 6pm)
• New Technology, Jurisdiction, and organizing Non-union Work (Friday, 12/5/08 3pm -6pm)
• Communication, Education and Mobilization (Friday, 12/12/08 3pm -6pm)

Wage Scale Delegate Elections
Thursday, December 18th, time: TBA

Eligibility Requirements
The Local will send five delegates. The 1588 President and Secretary-Treasure are delegates by virtue of their office. The remaining three will be elected from the rank-and-file.

To be eligible you must:

• Be a 1588 Deep Sea member in good standing

• Attend 3 of 5 of the contract meetings
• Agree to follow the 1588 ground rules for delegates
  
  

A message to Bayonne Citizens from President Anthony Falcicchio

Dear Bayonne Citizen,

I'm proud to be the President of the 500 hard-working union members who load and unload cargo ships, prepare BMWs for dealerships, and handle cruise passengers baggage. My members earn good pay with great benefits. Many of us are Bayonne residents who raise families here, shop at local businesses, and pay our taxes.

Our member's jobs are so good that thousands seek them every year. The problem is we need more and that won't happen if Bayonne builds luxury housing for the wealthy on MOTBY.

Bayonne once thrived as a blue-collar town before Texaco, Maidenform, AGC Plastics, Best Foods, and many others closed their doors. My father, brother, and three uncles all earned a good living at MOTBY. I did too. When the base closed, the Army gave it to Bayonne for a $1 because we said we’d use it for jobs. Good jobs are what we need now more than ever.

1588 members overwhelmingly passed an imperative motion to fight for a strong Deep Sea Master and Portwide contract at the largest membership meeting in recent history Sept. 22. The current six-year Deep Sea contract, set to expire in September 2010, contains deep wage divisions between top tier and bottom tier workforce. 1588 members rejected that contract in 2004 by a two-to-one margin and have now thrown their support behind a campaign to fight for a good contract. Below is the full text of the resolution

Funding our Future: Motion to Approve Funds for Deep-Sea Master Contract and Port-Wide Contract Campaign 2008-2009

Whereas, the next round of contract negotiations are the most critical in a generation since containerization.

Whereas, the ILA has called for early negotiations.

Whereas, at stake are the elimination of wage tiers, royalty tiers, non-union work, benefit plans, safety, and the implementation of labor saving technology.

This fall we mark a year-and-a half of member control over Local 1588. This newsletter contains a report to the membership on the activity of our administration half way through our term.

The Executive Board and I have worked hard to overhaul a Local that was run for decades by figures associated with organized crime and then for several years by court appointed officials with no union backgrounds.

See New York Times Article