International Longshoremen's Association Local 1588

Employers are not permitted to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights to Union activity. It is a violation of Federal Law to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against employees for filing a grievance or to discriminate against employees because of union or collective activity or to discourage support for a union.

"Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining" [National Labor Relations Act, Section 7]

On May 5, 2009 the Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board in Newark against Global Terminals. The text of the charge is below.

“On or about Thursday 4/30/09 and again on or about Friday 5/1/09 Global Terminal, through its agents, retaliated against ILA Local 1588 members for their concerted and protected activities by threatening to reduce wages and working conditions in response to the filing of a grievance.

Global terminal threatened in response to the grievance to:

• Require 1588 members to "check-in" even when they are on a break,
• Require 1588 members to remain on the terminal even if they are on a break,
• Reduce workers' hours in the yard by hiring half of the operators from 6am to 3pm and the other half from 8am to 5pm or finish,
• Reduce crane differential pay for RTG operators from $2.50 per hour to $1.50 per hour,
• Require that the RTG operators on break work their break.”

Please report any violations or suspected violations to the union.

Presses Labor Board charges against Global after threats of retaliation

Dear Labor Adjusters:

This letter is a grievance.

Global Terminals is violating the safety and jurisdiction provisions of the NYSA-ILA Portwide Agreement by not having a Pinman (a.k.a goundman / legman) with each machine. Untrained, non-ILA drivers wander into the stacks, stick their hands under the boxes, give unclear and inconsistent directions to operators, and sometimes leave before the spreader is unhooked. This dangerous situation is made even worse by the new RTGs which have poorer visibility and cabs that are higher off the ground.
RTG topples when trucker leaves before spreader is detached. Terminal unknown.

The lack of trained ILA members on the ground to signal properly and to safely direct the RTGs increases stress on the operator, slows production by creating additional moves, and puts outside drivers and operators at risk of injury and even death.

The work currently performed by untrained, outside truckers is rightfully Longshore work. Each RTG should be safely staffed by a Pinman with reasonable relief when loading or unloading containers onto a chassis.

Sincerely,
Anthony Falcicchio
President

After the Pin Man grievance was filed, Global threatened retaliation and the Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board.

Stella Maris Church, 170 Corbin Street, Port Newark, NJ

Decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions. But the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs. The unions of the AFL-CIO remember these workers on April 28, Workers Memorial Day.

The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. Every year, people in hundreds of communities and at worksites recognize workers who have been killed or injured on the job. Trade unionists around the world now mark April 28 as an International Day of Mourning.

For more information go to the AFL-CIO web site.

Friday April 3, 3:30 PM, Grand Central Station

Nine Local 1588 members and officers represented Local 1588 at a rally in support of Rite Aid workers on April 3. The 600 Rite Aid workers are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) who voted for the union last year. During that campaign, Rite Aid, like many companies, fired union supporters and broke the law to scare workers.

Now, a year later, they are fighting for their first contract and would benefit from the Employee Free Choice Act in that process. Rite Aid has come to the bargaining table 14 times but has failed to offer any reasonable proposals, agreeing only on trivial issues.

Rite Aid workers in NYC are members of Service Employees International Union Local 1199. We support them and their union and we will not be calling for a boycott of Rite Aid stores. We will be calling on Rite Aid to respect the rights of all of its workers.

Local 1588 officers, members, friends and family marched in the Bayonne St. Patrick's Day Parade then returned to the Union Hall for cornbeef and cabbage, and beer (some of it home-brewed). We were joined by Bill Harrigan, President of the 2,000-member ILA Local 333 and Bayonne native Mike Brandon, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 333.