Port of New York/New Jersey to add longshore jobs

Additional workers will be used to run second yard shifts, execute rail movements, and bolster equipment operations, according to a statement from the New York Shipping Association.    The Port of New York and New Jersey will add a 161 longshoremen in the coming months.
   John Nardi, the president of the New York Shipping Association, which represents employers of longshoremen, said the workers will be used to run second yard shifts, execute rail movements, and bolster the equipment operations.
   “It’s really just to cope with the growth in the port,” said Nardi. Later this year, employers plan to seek permission to hire even more longshoremen to begin implementing a relief gang system that was agreed to by the NYSA and the International Longshoremen’s Association in their 2013 contract.
   Since that contract was ratified, the port added 532 longshoremen, in part to replace longshoremen who retired early in response to incentives that were offered them in the NYSA-ILA agreement.
   The 161 longshoremen being added includes 139 new positions and 25 to replace some of the 532 recently-hired workers who decided not to stay in the industry. Nardi said as with the hiring of those 532 workers, 51 percent of 161 being added this time will be veterans, 25 percent will be ILA referrals and 24 percent NYSA referrals.
   Last week the NYSA was presented a hiring award at the 97th Annual Convention for The American Legion, Department of New Jersey, in recognition of its work in hiring veterans.