The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is set to picket today over non-use of their union members by many of the major cruise ship companies that visit Juneau and other parts of Alaska.
“Basically there is an immigration law that basically defines U.S. longshore work when foreign hulled vessels are in U.S. waters,” Alaska Longshore Division Local 200 Unit 16 president Dennis Young said. Young is also the Southeast Area committeeman for all of Alaska. “Those vessels have an obligation to contact contract stevedoring companies when they are in port areas in any U.S. waters to hire U.S. longshoremen to perform longshore functions.”
Young described those longshoremen functions as tying up and casting off vessels, operating any equipment integral to the cruise vessels or not, as well as transport and movement of cargo onboard the vessels.
“Our contract acknowledges and enforces that law,” Young said.
Young stated that within the cruise ship industry there has been blatant disregard of a form in INA: ACT 258 (Limitations On Performance Of Longshore work By Alien Crewmen) that is required to be filled out and given to the Customs and Border Patrol at the first port of entry.
That I-418 form has a simple question of “will any crew aboard this vessel perform U.S. longshore work. Yes or no?”
“The cruise ship companies, since the dawn of time, have been coming into Alaska and have always checked NO,” Young said. “That right there is a blatant disregard and violation of those filings.”
Young maintains that cruise ships have not contacted contract stevedores nor employed U.S. longshoremen for duties including tender boat movements and cargo across the docks, even in Juneau as early as five years ago.
“We have been struggling and fighting with the industry to ensure the proper workforce is performing the operations,” Young said. “We have been successful a bit in Juneau, but we are still struggling in Ketchikan and Sitka. Even some of the larger ports up and down the U.S. coast struggle with this.”
Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska port manager Andrew Greene stated, “I think the only comment I would have is that the ships are using U.S. labor to tie up their tenders. They are using U.S. personnel.”
Young said the problem occurs when vessels anchor and use their lifeboats, or tender boats, to bring passengers ashore. The cruise ship uses its own crew to dock the tender boats and disembark the passengers. The cruise lines tried to circumvent the longshoremen’s complaints by using their American citizen crew on the vessels, but those crews are not in the longshoremen’s union according to Young.
Greene acknowledged that it was probably true the U.S. citizens on the vessels were not in the longshoremen’s union.
“My only comment is that they are using U.S. personnel and U.S. labor is doing the work,” Greene said. “They are crewmembers on the ship. They are using some other U.S. labor on the ship, they are using U.S. people.”
Young stated that Customs and Border Protection, the police force that enforces the letter of the law for the cruise ships, has acknowledged that cruise ships have not met compliance with the law.
“I can’t speak for Customs and Border Protection or the Department of Labor,” Young said. “We have gone back to D.C. to have face-to-face meetings with our delegation representatives. All three reached out to the DOL and CBP. They both spent roughly two months pointing fingers at each other to determine who was responsible. Basically it was determined by DOL that CBP, for lack of a better word, is the police force that enforces the letter of the law to that act.”
Young stated that two weeks ago the CBP acknowledged that cruise ships have not been filing the I-418 forms correctly.
“Basically someone had stated as long as there is an American worker doing the work than it is not their problem,” Young said. “That their only concern was whether they were an illegal or not.”
Said Young, “It is U.S. longshoremen’s work. It isn’t U.S. workers on board, it isn’t a bus driver or dish server, the companies are to contact a contract stevedore company. The law is specific, it is U.S. longshoremen’s work, and it isn’t the American crew.”
A representative of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Juneau said the issue would be addressed today. CBP Area Port Director in Anchorage Lance Robinson stated they would be working with the longshoremen union and the cruise ship industry to get the issue resolved.
“There is really no other comment we can make,” Robinson said. “We are working closely with them to get this resolved.”
Alaska Cruise Association president John Binkley stated via email that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recently determined that ship crewmembers who tie up the small tender boats must be U.S. citizens.
“In accordance with this ruling the cruise lines will use only trained and qualified US citizens for this task,” Binkley wrote. “For the last 30 years of ships bringing visitors to Alaska communities they have used qualified crewmembers regardless of nationality. After protest from the Longshoremens Union, the CBP ruling has changed that policy.”
Four cruise ships will be in port today: Carnival-owned Princess Cruise Line’s 951-foot Golden Princess (2,600 passenger capacity, 1,200 crew - European officers, International crew) registered in Bermuda; Celebrity Cruise Line’s 965-foot Infinity (2,046 passenger, 999 crew – Greek officers, International crew) registered in the Bahamas; and Holland America Line’s 951-foot Westerdam and 936-foot Zuiderdam (both 1,916 passenger capacity and 817 crew - Dutch officers, Indonesian and Filipino crew) and registered in the Netherlands. One of the HAL vessels will be at anchor.
Young said they plan to start the picket at 1:30 or 2 p.m. today and will have support from other organizations. Young said that would include off-duty longshoremen as well as longshoremen from the Lower 48 and across Alaska, as well as other maritime unions and rank and file union members across Juneau.
“We will have a labor friendly presence,” Young said. “We have no desire, and we are not going to, have any action against the cruise ships that are at the docks. We will be tying up those ships just as we normally do as well as our utility guys that perform the gangway movements and cargo operations aboard those vessels. They will be on the job and working just as they did last Monday.”
Young stated that, while many of the unions may disperse by 3 p.m., the longshoremen plan to stay from the time the cruise ship drops its anchor until that anchor is raised again.
“And we will be there every week after that,” Young said. “And I plan to fly to Sitka and do the exact same thing in Sitka because they will have two vessels that anchor there, and then the next vessel that comes to anchor in Ketchikan we will have the exact same demonstration. I think it will wake up a lot of these companies as well as the U.S. government.”
• Contact reporter Klas Stolpe at 523-2263 or at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
Comments (49)
Add commentStooges!
They're Here!!
Time To Rectify The Violation
As the article states, this juristictional dispute has been going on for 30 years. The Longshoremen must continue their Alaska pickets to bring the cruise ships in line. These are the same foreign cruise companies that pay only 1% US taxes - thanks to generous loopholes - which has also been going on for 30 years.
Wow talk about looking for a
Wow talk about looking for a handout. Time to get that law repealed for all ships. This is the problem we have in this country, everyone thinks they are entitled to something and nobody wants to go out an work for a living. I say good for the cruise industry for bucking the system.
Photonut
You should take the "photo" off your name and just go by "nut". A "handout"???!!! How bizarre - they are trying to "go out and work for a living", but the Foreign-owned, barely paying a tax, cruise lines are screwing them out of their job!
If they want the work then
If they want the work then they should have to compete for it not have it handed to them because of an outdated law. This is the same law that won't allow foreign ships to start the tours in US ports and finish in US ports without a foreign stop. How many service jobs are lost because of that?
Maybe if they offered the service for a reasonable cost, the ships would consider it. Doesn't matter if it's a cruise ship or a log ship. Business is business and costs are always an issue we're a capitalistic society and anytime someone is forced to hire labor at a higher cost it smacks of socialism. Why do you think High Schools cost $100m and swimming pools cost $25m? Whitehorse built a better pool for less than $8m when the CAD was $0.60 to the USD.
The law is the law
outdated or not. If the cruise lines don't like the law - they should work to change it, not blatantly disregard it.
As for "handouts" - the cruise lines get plenty of that!
Leave the tourists out of it
I completely understand where the longshoreman are coming from and agree, I just don't think picketing in front of the tourists sends the right message about Juneau. We don't want [filtered word] off dock workers being the welcoming committee to Juneau. My wife I were on a cruise once where there was protesting against a cruise line while we were there and we felt very unwelcome as soon as we got off the boat. The cruise lines will stop at nothing to increase their profits (as we saw how they manipulated Alaska in regards to the head tax). The protesting won't affect the cruise line corporation at all, but it will affect people view of our town.
If there is a law being broken then the longshoreman should have been picketing the justice department for the past 30 years if it was such a big problem. The tourism industry brings thousands of jobs to Juneau and pumps millions of dollars into the local economy. We need to make sure that the cruise lines are following the law, but the longshoremen need to leave the tourists out of this and deal with the problem at the source.
I'm confused
I thought the issue was foreign workers were doing the work?
Now it is reported that they are using American workers.
So what is the issue? Are we now against Americans workers?
Seems like they fixed the problem. Does the union also think Tracy Arm day cruises need to use the union workforce or can they continue to use the cute college girls to tie them up?
apparently I can not say "pi$$ed off"
apparently I can not say "pi$$ed off" because it is a "Filtered Word"
Cruise
Scr-- the unions. They've done it to us for so long. Follow WI!
That Law affects all of us -
That Law affects all of us - from Wik: 1988! how about 2011!
"The Jones Act also adds a real, direct cost to consumers – particularly consumers in Hawaii and Alaska. A 1988 GAO report found that the Jones Act was costing Alaskan families between $1,921 and $4,821 annually for increased prices paid on goods shipped from the mainland. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Marine_Act_of_1920
Really?
"The unions have screwed us?" I want to belong to an organization that protects my job and gives me yearly raises and benefits that matches management's and not have to wait for Congress to raise the "minimum" wage, which has been inadequate to live on for years. Why should an organization that supports workers be so vilified and yet no one gets upset when management earns much more and does so much less?
Right on Photonut and AukeBayRay!
Both of you seem to be the only ones out there that understand what's going on. And while those of us reading the Empire will know exactly what's going on in Marine Park today as the cruiseship tenders land, those 2000+ passengers and 1000+ crew from that one ship won't have a clue...the only thing they will see -for their first impression of Juneau- is a picket line. What a lovely warm welcome. Shame on the longshoreman's union for doing things in this manner. There are other ways, which would not have such a negative impact on tourism.
@northwestclam: because
@northwestclam: because business has succeeded in vilifying unions, despite the lack of sense it makes. A union is a willing organization of individuals who exercise their rights, as Americans, to work together for their own benefit, by getting their employers to sign contracts guaranteeing certain conditions. No one forces the employers to sign these contracts, but I think we can all agree they are beholden to them once signed. And somehow this equates to big, mean unions destroying our way of life, all because they're abiding by free market principles (which, I guess, don't extend to actual human beings--only business should be free!).
It's a pity. You don't learn about the real history of unions in high school. There's no mention of the killings by various levels of government and business, no mention of the wage cuts or imported strikebreakers, and we were only taught the rudiments of how horrible it was to work back then, how few rights an employee had (which basically amounted to protection from INTENTIONAL injury/death).
US citizens tie up tenders
The cruise lines have no issue with the union continuing to perform the work on large ships; however, the union has specifically negotiated terms with the cruise industry to exclude small boats such as tenders (small boats). Those tenders have always been handled by the crew and, given the concern, the industry has already agreed to use U.S. citizens to tie up tenders.
For the last 30 years, as
For the last 30 years, as ships have brought visitors to Alaska communities, qualified crew members have been used. The Alaska cruise industry actively recruits throughout the state and participates in many workforce development programs to assure there is a good supply of talented Alaskans to employ during the season, and eventually into full-time hospitality careers. There is no question the industry is in full compliance with federal immigration laws. In fact, the industry has been very proactive in not only hiring Americans but especially in Alaska operations, hiring Alaskans.
Longshoremen Protest Video
Why do longshoremen believe companies must use their services? Aren't companies free to choose? Let them bid for the business like everyone else. Isn't this the American way? I found video of their protest.
http://tinyurl.com/3zm6v4f
Photonut suggests....
That American workers who live in the U.S., who pay taxes for our roads and schools, parks, courts, etc. etc. and who live in a society where a home costs $150,000 plus, milk and eggs and staples cost whatever they cost, and our laws and structure are designed in a certain way, i.e. to discourage squatting on public land -
that person should compete with someone from say, India or the Philippines, where average salaries are say $2 per day, or maybe if you are skilled, $280 per month? Where a home might be anything from a shack you built yourself from old scraps of lumber, on who knows what land that you don't own, with no running water or electricity, to what an expat would consider an extremely modest dwelling costing around $200 a month. Food and drink and clothing are also much, much cheaper in these places.
Basically - the entire argument is apples and oranges. The economy and standard of living is what it is in any given place, and to ask someone who comes from a place with a very high standard of living - even for the most frugal person - to compete with someone who can live in their home country on one tenth of what we could, is ridiculous, and one of the reasons we have laws to protect American workers in the first place.
ILWU’s actions today
ILWU’s actions today represent a bad faith effort on behalf of a small group in Juneau. This issue is not about hiring Americans (although the Alaska cruise industry is in compliance with the Customs and Border Patrol and federal immigration laws). This is about lining the pockets of a small number of union members who are already very generously paid.
enough is enough!
The next thing you know, they’ll be demanding to dock our personal boats too – enough is enough!
ILWU
Union thugs in action. Can you say SEIU?
question
just a ? or 2 does the st use this union when tying up? If not why?
Food for thought...
Excerpt from a list of OVERPAID Americans:
"8) West Coast Longshoremen
In early 2002, West Coast ports shut down as the longshoremen's union fought to preserve generous health-care benefits that would make most Americans drool. The union didn't demand much in wage hikes for good reason: Its members already were making a boatload of money.
Next year (2003), West Coast dockworkers will earn an average of $112,000 for handling cargo, according to the Pacific Maritime Association, their employer. Office clerks who log shipping records into computers will earn $136,000. And unionized foremen who oversee the rank-and-file will pull down an average $177,000.
Unlike their East Coast union brethren who compete with non-union ports in the South and Gulf of Mexico, the West Coast stevedores have an ironfisted lock on Pacific ports. Given their rare monopoly, they can disrupt U.S. commerce -- as they did during the FDR years -- and command exorbitant wages, even though their work is more automated and less hazardous than in the days of "On the Waterfront."
I find it fascinating that
I find it fascinating that the "build the dang fence" and "illegal immigration is killing our country" crowd are all up in arms about us enforcing a law that keeps U.S. citizens in U.S. jobs!
Bottom line, you should WANT longshoremen doing this job because they are background checked, drug & alcohol tested, trained and properly equipped to do this work on OUR DOCKS.
akcomm - cracks me up...
Everyone in America touts it as the "land of opportunity" and I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't a few times wish to be making more than they are now, let alone be a millionaire. We idolize basketball players and movie stars who make millions (in unionized professions). We allow congressmen and women obscene amounts of cash and benefits where there is no negotiating at all.
But when a group of people - teachers, public employees, firefighters, police, longshoreman - make decent wages and benefits, (in the case of teachers and firefighters maybe not so decent) we cry foul? These people aren't millionaires with 100% lifelong medical benefits - they are the family down the street, in the same kind of house you live in, driving the same kind of car - - - where exactly does all the jealous rage come from?
@swimmergirl: I think it has
@swimmergirl: I think it has to do with the perception that unionized employees don't achieve anything for themselves. They have the support of a whole organization, so anything an individual accomplishes can be immediately attributed to the organization. People who buy into the bootstrap myth can then turn around and say that it's unfair to people who have the ability to achieve everything for themselves (which is patently BS--no such person exists). Then, those who haven't achieved much can simply accuse unions of holding them back.
I don't know if jealousy is so much to blame as this adolescent, "lone-wolf" fantasy many Americans--particularly men--have about life.
Well, atleast those IBEW and
Well, atleast those IBEW and Verizon union workers were displaying stand-up behavior when they were on strike a couple of weeks ago. Hardly, they engaged in the normal thug tactics that we've come to expect when union workers don't get their way. Can we say, "tantrums"?
If unions are so wonderful and beneficial, why do they only account for less than 9% of private sector employees? And why do they have to resort to card check and other nefarious tactics to get employers and employees to join up?
Unions have outlived their usefulness and now are just top down, power hungry thugs that buy elections and favors from politicians.
lch?
Thanks, who's tying them up now?
Well said Swimmergirl!
Well said Swimmergirl!
lose-lose
When unions get greedy, nobody wins.