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.

Whereas, under the current economic depression the employers will demand givebacks.

Therefore be it moved to approve $100,000 from the 1588 general fund for a campaign to win a decent deep-sea master and port-wide contract. The Executive Board will give regular reports to the membership at the meetings on the status of the campaign and the budget. The money will be used for items such as corporate research, membership educational materials and workshops, legal defense, media, lost time and rank and file travel to affected ports, campaign t-shirts, banners and posters, and organizing activities such as rallies and cross local and port actions.

1588 laid out the below plan to begin work on the contract:

Steps in 1588 Strategic Deep-Sea Master and Portwide Contract Campaign 2008-2010

• Identify worker & union issues: Meetings and Survey.

• Organize worker-to-worker communication network.
• Analyze union & employer strengths and weaknesses.
• Create bargaining committee and a contract action committee.
• Set union’s negotiating goals.
• Develop campaign message.
• Select targets & allies.
• Create campaign strategy and tactics.
• Create campaign time-line.
• Evaluate campaign and adjust strategies and tactics.