Contract Demands 2024

ILA RANK AND FILE DEMANDS FOR MASTER CONTRACT 2024

Getting What's Ours And Lifting the Standard For Everyone

As the saying goes: If not now, when? If not us, who? This is THE time to make up for past mistakes at the bargaining table and correct the course of the ILA for the future. It's essential to bargain against the companies and NOT against ourselves. Bargaining against ourselves happens every time people say, "We won't get that," "That'll never happen," or "Be satisfied with what you have." It also happens when folks view the union as something outside when you hear sentiments such as "Let's see what 'they' get for us this time" or "'They're' (or not) fighting for us." It happens when the new hires are thrown under the bus at $20 an Hr to help pay for a pension buyout. All this is company talk. WE ARE THE UNION. Without an educated, organized, engaged, and active rank and file, the "union" is nothing but a hollow shell, a paper tiger.

Professional sports players are not paid beaucoup bucks because they are good at tHrowing a ball around. They are paid based on the enormous money they make for the franchise owners and ... they have UNIONS that will STRIKE!. So too, for us. We should be paid proportional to what we make possible for the economy. From this vantage point, we are ridiculously underpaid. Rodolfe Saadé, CEO OF CMA-CGM, according to Forbes, has a PERSONAL fortune of nearly $10 Billion. In other words, he could pretty much pay for a National Defined Benefit Pension for everyone in the ILA single-handedly and still live like a Pharoh the rest of his life.

If we going to go to the matt over this contract, it would be helpful to know what we are fighting for. By not knowing, we risk being presented with a defeat portrayed as a victory. The main things we are fighting for are to end all tiers in wages and benefits to make up for wage cuts from inflation, an actual raise and a COLA Clause for maintaining our wage in the future, a National Defined Benefit Pension better than the ILWU, and a national response to automation, including early retirement if new technology begins to crash work opportunities. As you can see, a strong National Defined Benefit Pension is a key component of our response to automation.

Beyond our interests, working folk, in general, are beaten down and criminally underpaid. By not just holding but advancing the line, the ILA creates a new expectation of what's possible for everyone else.

The ILA is not an Island; even with all our social weight, we exist in the context of the larger labor movement, which only represents one in ten workers. That means nine out of ten working people essentially work at will and can be fired for any reason. The ILA is low hanging fruit out on a drooping branch. The ILA must engage much more with the labor movement, not only for self-defense but also out of a moral commitment to other working people; reaffiliating with the AFL-CIO is a place to start. Solidarity is a two-way street. This is why answering the call to align our contract with May Day 2028 is so important. It will build immediate support and set the stage to win REAL demands for working people in 2028.

It's abundantly clear the companies are getting over on the ILA and have so for decades whether it's the legacy of Jim Crow and the Right to Work laws in the South, concessionary deals on roro and break bulk, disgraceful pensions or no pension at all, or an insulting starting wage, it's time we stand up and get what's ours.

The following incomplete demands are realistic and, if anything, too conservative. They still represent a tiny fraction, a few percent at most, of the overall cost of shipping cargo. The companies have the money. They may not want to pay, but they can pay. We have a moral obligation to MAKE THEM PAY!

General Conditions

• OPEN BARGAINING - NO MORE BLACK BOX NEGOTIATIONS OR GAG RULES.

• MEMBER DRIVEN CONTRACT CAMPAIGN THAT MOBILIZES THE ENTIRE RANK AND FILE.

• DO NOT SURRENDER THE RIGHT TO STRIKE. WORK TO REPEAL TAFT HARTLEY AND PASS THE PRO ACT.

• A STRIKE FUND.

• A NEW 3 OR 4 YEAR CONTRACT NOT A SIX YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION.

• A MINIMUM OF 30 DAYS TO DEBATE THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT BEFORE VOTING UNLIKE IN 2018 WHERE WE GIVEN LESS THAN 48 HOURS.

• A MAIL IN BALLOT VOTE CONDUCTED BY THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION

• FORM A FORMAL ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE ILWU, THE ILA AND THE IBT AND REAFFILIATE WITH THE AFL-CIO

  *Acronyms will be defined at end of document

  MASTER CONTRACT

• STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE UNITED AUTO WORKERS (UAW) AND THE LABOR MOVEMENT AND ANSWER THE UAW CALL TO LINE UP CONTRACTS ON MAY DAY, 2028.

  This will also achieve our longtime goal of lining up our contract expiration with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's (ILWU) contract expiration in July of 2028. From May Day 2028 forward our unions will have 4 yr contracts expiring April 30th. This will build the power of the labor movement exponentially and it's simple to do and in our control. 6 year contracts are a gift to the employer. Anyone that has a pulse knows we've each lost tens of thousands of dollars to inflation alone in these last few years.

• EQUAL WORK: EQUAL PAY. END ALL TIERS IN WAGES AND BENEFITS

  This demand should be self-evident. If people do the same work they should be paid the same. To do otherwise is to create divisions and resentment weaking our solidarity with each other. It also incentivises the boss to get rid of top wage workers and replkace them with heap new hires. The same goes for all our benefits.

• WAGES: A COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) WITH AN ACTUAL RAISE AND A COLA CLAUSE

  Industry Context

  The STARTING base rate in 2024 in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will be $39.52 ST and the top base rate will be $54.85 ST. Top rate for crane in 2024 with differential will be $60.65. That's a $5.80 differential. In NY/NJ our differential is $2.50. The starting wage in the ILWU is more than the ILA's top rate and it is twice the ILA's starting wage of $20 Hr. It takes 4000 Hrs to get to top rate in the ILWU. In the ILA it takes 6 years. In 2027, the top base rate in the ILWU will be $60.85, and for a crane operator, it will be $66.65. We have to do much better in the NEW contract. A comparison is laid out in the table below.

  Our container royalty payment is a factor. It's very unevenly distributed, and many in the ILA don't receive it. This is a complicated discussion , see below.

  Impact of Inflation

  Let's look at inflation. Inflation is a nonstop wage cut. Let's assume we had kept up with inflation from our last NEW contract in 2012 - 2018 was a 6 year extension - our straight time wage would be $51.85 TODAY not $39 (32+7). That's a wage cut of $13. See the attached table to show the progression. Since we HAVE NOT kept up with inflation we have actually had about a $13 wage cut and that's with what were called misleadingly $7 in "raises." A raise is an advance in your position relative to the economy not a hedge against inflation. Unions such as the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) have Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Clauses so their wages keep up with inflation and a raise is a raise. Social Security uses a COLA Clause to maintain the purchasing power of your retirement benefit.

  *We are using the conservative Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI). For our position, as workers and consumers, there are more accurate inflation calculations that are worth exploring, but the BLS CPI is widely accepted.

  Wage and COLA Clause Demand

  $60 an Hour Straight Time (ST) at the beginning of our contract on October 1st, 2024

  $77.38 ST at the end of the contract on May 1st, 2024

  We demand a Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) Clause for all future contracts to avoid these wage cuts. One way this could work is that every time the BLS updates the CPI, we get a wage increase and a lump sum to compensate for the wage loss for the previous period.

  We demand no less than $60 ST at the beginning of the new contract. The target at the end of our contract on May 1, 2028 (3 years and 7 months) will be approximately $77.38 Hr/st, assuming the Federal Reserve Bank hits its 2% inflation target: $51.85 (the initial increase to make up for wage cuts) + $8.15 (lost income clawback) + $12 (a 20% raise distributed evenly) + $5.31 (8% COLA) = $77.31. That would be about an increase of about 98% over the life of the contract. Keep in mind nearly half is inflation.

  Beyond the base wage, our equipment differentials haven't changed in 20 years. They must be updated and shifted from local contracts to the Master Contract.

• A SECURE RETIREMENT

  For whatever reason the United States has chosen to analogize a secure retirement to a tHree legged stool: A Defined Benefit Pension Plan (DBPP), Social Security (SS) and Savings.

  A defined benefit means that the payout or benefit is defined and the company has to find a way to fund it regardless of the market or whatever else. Therefore the contribution or funding for the plan is effectively undefined. If there's one thing a company hates almost as much as paying for something, it's uncertainty, and DBPP hits them on both fronts. Companies hate DBPPs. These funds are protected by law and must be funded. With DBPP you recieve the benefit for life. It doesn't run out. A nice side effect of a DBBP is the reduction in parasitical fees. The employer cares very much how the fund is performing and watches it like a hawk.

  A defined contribution is just the opposite. The contribution is defined but the benefit is not. If spending outstrips the defined funding the account drains. A 401k is a defined contribution and can be vaporized when the market goes south. It runs out as you spend it. Another annoying thing about a 401k, is the industry not only charges all sorts of fees but then tries to turn us into mini-investors. 99% of longshoreman are not qualified investors and if they were they nwouldn't be longshoreman. Unlike a DBPP the employer could care less what happens to the money after the defined contribution is made. They did their part and are off the hook.

  Obviously a 401k falls on the savings leg of the stool no matter how much the employer refers to it as a pension or tries to replace our DBPP with a 401k; it is not a pension. A 401 is a savings account plain and simple.

  We all pay into SS and will recieve the benefit.

• ESTABLISH A NATIONAL DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLAN

  A few conventions ago in 2015 in San Juan, Kimoko Harris introduced a resolution to establish a National Defined Benefit Pension (NDBP) at both the Atlantic Coast District Convention and the International Convention. It passed unanimously at both conventions. Not much has happened since. The disgraceful disregard for a secure retirement is the weakest aspect of the ILA's contract. This is a moral issue. How can the ILA be complicit in allowing its members, after a lifetime of getting beat up by the job, to retire into poverty and have their "golden years" overwhelmed by anxiety and insecurity? Now is the time to correct this tragic mistake.

  A NDBP is directly related to our response to automation and new technology. An excellent National Defined Benefit Pension will put in place the infrastructure needed for early retirements due to the impact of new technology if they become necessary.

  The ILWU's NATIONAL plan for the longshore division will be $255 a credit year in 2027. We have all the same employers. If the ILWU can have a national defined benefit plan without gimmicky inducements such as tiers and buyouts, so can the ILA. Pension tiers and buyouts, such as in NY/NJ are a classic example of negotiating against yourself. It's anti solidaristic and creates unnecessary divisions. It embeds a wage tier in the logic of the contract. It relies on throwing the new hires under the bus at a low wage to help pay for the higher annual pension credit, recently $190 a cr/yr. It's extrordinarily unfair for those that need to retire outside of the "window" or who don't have the qualifying years and, in NY/NJ, will be forced to drop down outside the "window" to a base of $140 a cr/yr. In addition, the cash buyout comes the Container Royalty Fund and is therefore assesed a 10% dues. This is inappropriate on a few levels.

  As it stands, every port in the ILA is left to fight on its own. Any school child can see this is a recipe for disaster. A number of ports in the ILA don't get a pension and those that do are inadequate and all over the map; $140, $100 or $60 a credit year doesn't cut it. In fact, it's a disgrace. A pension is a deferred wage. With this in mind, every port is paid a wildly different wage.

  This setup begs the important question: Is the ILA a union based on solidarity and mutual support or an association of local unions competing for work in a race to the bottom?

  The best plan in our industry on the West Coast is a "hybrid" plan that includes either a $265 pension credit or 2% of the highest income year by years of service, whichever is greater. Since our International Officers claim the ILA is the most powerful union on Earth, it is only fitting that we have the best National Defined Benefit Pension to accompany it.

  National Defined Benefit Pension Demand

  We demand a minimum monthly pension benefit of $300 a credit year or 2% of the highest income year multiplied by years of service. The highest income year can be the 12 consecutive months just before retirement. We demand a COLA Clause for the DBPP and regular COLA increases for all existing retirees. If Social Security can do it so can we. We need to increase our survivor's benefits to 75%. We need the option to purchase pension credits and/or rollover our 401K into the pension.

  The tipping point would be $180,000. If your best year is less than $180,000, you receive a pension credit of $300 a year. If your best year is greater than $180,000, you use the 2% of your best year multiplied by years of service.

  Two examples for 25 years of service:

  >a) best year is $250,000. Annual Defined Pension Benefit = 0.02 x $250,000 x 25yos = >>$125,000

  >b) best year is $130,00. Annual Defined Pension Benefit = $300 x 12mo x 25yos = $90,000

  And, for a tragic and disgraceful comparison, take Charleston or Jacksonville at a $100 cr/yr:

  >c) $100 x 12mo x 25yos = $30,00

  or NY/NJ at $140 cr/yr:

  >d) $140 x 12mo x 25 = $42,000

  Some discussion on the tension between local plans and a national plan

  It's well worth remembering the advice of Mark Twain's Puddin'head Wilson:

  Behold, the fool saith, "Put not all thine eggs in the one basket"—which is but a manner of saying, "Scatter your money and your attention"; but the wise man saith, "Put all your eggs in the one basket and — WATCH THAT BASKET."

  In the early 2000's when we would discuss a NDPP the concern of the local's was loosing control to a central plan that would be located in NY and dominated by the "other" interests that might be looking lovingly at the cookie jar. In response to this concern, we designed a central top up plan that would variably raise each plan or lack thereof to a national standard and leave the local plans in local control, just in case. In time, as new members came into the industry they would be covered by the national plan and the local plans would eventually be converted to the national plan.

  There are several important reasons why the multiple plan stategys is flawed and why a single central plan is superior. Multiple scattered plans actually invite corruption because it is harder for the membership and the government to monitor. Take what's happened in Puerto Rico as an example. A single central plan is much easier to monitor by the members and by government. There are increasingly stringent laws surrounding pension funds. With respect to weakining the administration of the plan through nepotism, we need to include strong language in the trust and plan to safeguard against this corruption. In a plan that will easily surpass $10,000,000,000 we can't afford to hire unqualified administrators be they office workers, lawyers, economists, accountants or the asset manager.

  It's common sense that a single National Defined Benefit Pension Plan that covers all longshoreworkers has far more bargaining power than multiple smaller plans each with different benefits or no benefits and all pitted against each other. Another major drawback with multiple plans is the additional cost from the inefficiency of redundant administration.

• THE 401K SAVINGS PLAN

  Both the ILA and the ILWU have employer defined contribution 401k's. It's a simple substitution to our hourly wage. The 401 is a windfall for Wall Street. Every port has a 401 and every 401 has hundreds of accounts and every account has an asset manager that hires other asset managers and These parasites suck out millions in fees that compound over time to reduce our retirement savings enormously. 401K's are a wasteful and an inefficient use of our retirement savings. Eliminating these fees would put that money back into our retirement savings. It would be better to establish a NATIONAL hybrid savings account similar to Social Security that allows both company and member contributions but is in a single pooled account with only ONE ASSET MANAGER.

  Having said that, we need to be able to contribute to our 401's to the legal maximum if we choose. The companies should throw us a bone and add to the 401k.

• A NATIONAL ILA AND ILWU RESPONSE TO AUTOMATION WITH A JOB SECURITY PROGRAM

  We need this to address the inevitable impact of new technology. The Mayflower's cargo was about one forty foot container and took a week to unload. Today, the largest ships can carry over 12,000 Mayflowers and it takes about the same time to unload. We'll need at the very least guarantees of 80% of income or early retirement for any lost jobs, increased assessments on acreage and tonnage, and increased taxation to benefit our communities. Our National Defined Benefit Pension demand is a key component of addressing the impact of new technology and needs to be in place to provide the infrastructure for early retirement.

  There is no doubt that automation is coming. The ILA and ILWU must organize inland down the supply chain or continue to see their power reduced. The most significant action the ILA can take is to get agreements on new organizing tHroughout the supply chain.

  We must continue to slow down new technology and guide it's implementation. We also need better statistics to tell how new technology is impacting our job opportunities. It's not always so clear as Mr. Robot showing up in the morning to take your job. This keys into the below demand for information requests. A simple ratio of (TEU's/Man Hours) over the last twenty years would say a lot if the information provided is accurate. There are other metrics to explore to help give us a better picture.

• REMOVE CAP ON THE CONTAINER ROYALTY FUND (CRF)

  We demand the fund be distributed equally and transparently to all qualifying LS. No variation. No Tiers.

  Some ports only distribute several thousand dollars to members while others distribute over $20,000. In a real sense the smaller ports have been disproportionately effected by automation. The distribution of the CRF is very uneven and unfair. One way to distribute the compensation for increased productivity would be to take the annual Container Royalty Fund and divide it by the total hours worked on automated cargo; call this Q. Take Q and multiply by each members annual hours worked on automated cargo to get an exact amount for the CRF Supplement (CRFS) . Alternatively, and this might be fairer, we would take the CRF and divide by the number of qualifying members to get the CRFS. Regardless we need both. We also need ACCURATE statistics. These numbers need to be made public so all members can see them. How the CRFS impacts our wage is a question we need to discuss.

  There is a discussion to be had around the CRF and it's impact on slowing down automation if at all. We need to look at the uneven contribution the CRF payments make to our wages. Although the implementation of the CRF is very problematic there is no doubt it's an important way to "tax" automation in order to compensate for loss of work and increased productivity. On the other hand, there may be better disincentives for automation and better uses for the CRFS.

  A lot is made over the fact the ILWU does not have a Container Royalty Fund. There is no doubt that the CRF payment increases our wage. The exact amount can only be determined with access to the above quotient Q but as a guesstimate it is likely around $5 an hour. If this is the case our effective straight time wage is roughly $44 which is still much less than the ILWU's $55 and Q does not factor into overtime or double time but simply adds to each hour. Of course there is the International's cut of 10% that further reduces the contribution of the CRF payment to our wage.

• IMPROVE MILA

  Reduce the requirement for medicare wraparound coverage for retirement from 25 years of service to 10 years. Change from defined contribution to defined benefit. Eliminate all copays. Copays are simply punitive and function to snare people with mistakes or forgotten bills that end up causing problems down the road. It's much simpler accounting to have no copays. Reduce hours to fully qualify back to 700. No tiers. Expand to include dental and vision.

• DOCKSIDE POWER AND PLUGINS FOR ALL SHIPS

  Plug-in/outs by skilled ILA labor. Invest in air pollution reducing measures such as elctrification and fuel cells with air quality control monitors throughout the terminals. The road surfaces on the terminals must be properly maintained to reduce dust and and hazardous rim rockers

• ELECTED RANK AND FILE SAFETY COMMITTEES WITH EMPOWERED TO MAKE CHANGES AND A BUDGET FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING

• INCLUDE ALL WORK ENVIRONMENT CAUSED CANCERS AND DISABILITIES IN HARBOR WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT

• PORT CLOSURES FOR 24 HOURS AFTER ANY ACCIDENTAL FATALITY REGARDLESS OF UNION STATUS. ALL LIFE IS SACRED

• ELIMINATE PRODUCTIVITY REQUIREMENTS: SPEED-UP KILLS

  Remember the song about John Henry. He died from a competition with a steam hammer. Speed-Up must never be used to deter the introduction of automation. We work to the safe capacity our equipment, the yard layout and equipment hired. You want to go faster, hire more machines but don't squeeze into unsafe speed-up.

• ELIMINATE THE NO STRIKE CLAUSE

• DISCIPLINE IN THE MASTER CONTRACT NOT LOCAL AGREEMENTS

  A clearly stated "Just Cause Standard" in the Master Contract: Due process, progressive discipline, no zero tolerance without state intervention. All write ups expunged from the record after one year. Streamlined 3 step grievance process. Arbitrators selected randomly in a rotation from the American Arbitration Association Pool or the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. No permanent arbitrators. A single drug policy in the master contract.

• UNIFIED MASTER CONTRACT: ELIMINATE LOCAL AGREEMENTS WHERE POSSIBLE. WE NEED NATIONAL BULK, BREAK BULK, RORO AND CRUISE SHIP AGREEMENTS

• ALL HOLIDAYS AND VACATIONS IN MASTER CONTRACT. JUNETEENTH A PAID HOLIDAY

• BENEFITS CONTRIBUTIONS: HAVE ALL HOLIDAY, VACATION, WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION, DISABILITY HOURS CONTRIBUTE TO BENEFITS. INCREASE WORKERS COMPENSATION, DISABILITY CONTRIBUTION TO 40 HOURS A WEEK

• PROMPT, COMPLETE AND ACCURATE ANSWERS TO ALL INFORMATION REQUESTS

  We need truthful and detailed current and historical statistics, not works of fiction. There should be significant penalties for misrepresentation, incompleteness or delay.

• 12 PAID STOP WORK UNION MEETINGS PER YEAR IN MASTER CONTRACT

• HARMONIZE WORK PRACTICES AND PAY TO THE HIGHEST STANDARD

• ELIMINATE RETALIATION FOR ACCIDENTS

• 2 MONTH DEADLINE TO PRODUCE AND DISTRIBUTE COHERENT NEW CONTRACT AS SEARCHABLE PDF AND PAPER BOOKLET TO BE POSTED PUBLICLY

Comparison of Inflation Adjusted Wage to Actual Wage with No Adjustment

International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)

*SW is for Starting Wage

Inflation Adjusted (IA) or Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was done using the US Government's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI). The year is from October to October. The last entry is for July of 2024, the last published CPI. Each year a COLA was made and then the "raise" was added to become the new wage. The new wage was adjusted before the next raise was added and so forth. Separating out a COLA from a raise helps us see we need a COLA Clause. With a COLA Clause in our contract a raise is a raise and a COLA is a COLA.

A quick check shows that overall the ILWU beat inflation from 2012 to today: $34.68 in July 2012 inflation adjusted for July 2024 is $47.61 and their actual wage today is $54.85. In 2012 the ILA was at $32 and inflation adjusted for July 2024 is $43.51. The ILWU is $7.24 ahead. The ILA is $4.51behind. The skill differentials are much higher in the ILWU. However, the ILWU does not receive a Container Royalty Fund (CRF) payment. The CRF payment is all over the map and many do not recieve it so it's a very unfair wage "supplement" and can't be used. Even including the CRF "supplement" the ILA wages come up short. There are some staffing ratios in NY/NJ that are not in the master contract that often double our nominal wage and in some cases triple or even quadruple it but the vast majority in the ILA do not benefit from the same ratios as in NY/NJ. These factors complicate a head to head comparison, but all things considered, a direct comparison is both meaningful and revealing.

References and Acronyms

Taft Hartley: anti-union legislation introduced in 1947 by Republicans Taft and Hartley.

PRO Act: Protect the Right to Organize Act legislation proposed by the AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

ILA: International Longshoremen's Association

ILWU: International Longhsore and Warehouse Union

IBT: Interntional Brotherhood of Teamsters

COLA: Cost of Living Adjustment

BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics

CPI: Consumer Price Index

CMA-CGM from wikipedia: CMA CGM is a French shipping and logistics company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé. The name is an acronym of two predecessor companies, Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM), translating as "Maritime Freighting Company" and "General Maritime Company", respectively.