NYSA: ILA rejection of contract “disappointing”

NYSA: ILA rejection of contract “disappointing”

NYSA: ILA rejection of contract “disappointing”

   The New York Shipping Association issued a statement Thursday expressing disappointment that International Longshoremen's Association delegates rejected a proposed contract without letting union members vote on it.
   NYSA administers the ILA contract in the New York area.
   “At a time when the economy has impacted many families the members of the ILA here in the Port of New York and New Jersey would have gained significantly with the proposed contract extension proposal,” said Joseph C. Curto, NYSA president.
   Two weeks ago, 200 ILA “wage scale delegates” meeting in Orlando, Fla., unanimously rejected a proposal by the United States Maritime Alliance to revise and extend the current master contract for 18,500 ILA members working at ports on the East and Gulf coasts until September 2012. The current contract expires Sept. 30, 2010.
   The ILA said union members were concerned about the introduction of new technology at ports and the threat that presents to their jobs.
   NYSA administers the contract for 3,325 longshore workers in the Port of New York and New Jersey, and has become a high-profile advocate for the shipping industry in the region.
   NYSA noted the contract would have provided an immediate $1.24 million in wage increases to ILA members in the New York area, by raising the salaries of all to a minimum of $20 per hour. There are about 780 ILA workers in the New York area who make less than $20 per hour.
   In reviewing the impact of the contract rejection NYSA estimates that the 3,325 New York-New Jersey longshore workers would have received $61.5 million in wage increases over the extended three-year period of the contract. Those enhanced wages would have begun in October 2010.
   Curto, a former Maher Terminals executive who became president of the NYSA just this week, said, 'All of the terminal facilities in the port of New York and New Jersey have undergone significant reconstruction over the past several years, increasing efficiency and capacity through these terminal enhancements. In addition, the terminal operators and carriers who call on the port have made significant investments in the training of our labor, to complement the efficiencies at the terminals, thereby enhancing professionalism and productivity of our work force.
   'This port is one of the most advanced technologically in the country and we have achieved that by working in partnership with the International Longshoreman's Association. That is why this decision is so disappointing,” he added.
   “Why would the ILA pick now to create their own obstacle to growth?' asked Frank McDonough, Curto’s predecessor as NYSA president.
   Noting NYSA’s advocacy for replacing the Bayonne Bridge so that bigger ships can call the port, and the port authority’s plan to build a new container terminal in Jersey City, he said the port is “poised on the brink of incredible growth, with the expected doubling of cargo by 2020. With growth come jobs — increased hours for existing workers and creation of jobs for future workers, as well.”