After months of protests, grievances, and lobbying efforts by local officials and rank and file members, Baltimore longshoremen achieved their long-sought goal of stopping the unsafe practice of driving through the mobile VACIS machines.

Back in July of 2006, after articles in Pier Pressure and rank and file anger, President Bowers issued a directive that all union members were to stop driving their yard tractors through the X-ray machine. Most ports immediately implemented the International directive. Ironically, Baltimore was not one of them. The Baltimore cargo local was under International trusteeship at the time.

In Baltimore, those that refused to drive through were removed from the payroll and replaced. Numerous grievances were filed over this. After a meeting of the International Resource Committee (IRC) the practice stopped. The union is going after back money for those that were replaced unjustly for insisting on a safe work environment.