October 8, 2002
ON THE WATERFRONT:
Bush acts on port lockout; union incensed (Richard Tomkins, 10/8/2002, UPI)President George W. Bush intervened in the West Coast ports labor dispute Tuesday by seeking a federal injunction to put longshoremen back to work, sparking immediate outrage from the workers' union and charges of "collusion" with management."They worked together to threaten the union," International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union Communications Director Steve Stallone told United Press International. "There has been collusion between them from the beginning."
Bush, citing national economic health and safety, directed U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft Tuesday to seek a federal court order to put longshoremen back to work for 80 days while mediators try to resolve the dispute between dock workers, shipping lines and terminal operators. [...]
The dispute mainly centers on the introduction of new technology at the ports to speed up and improve cargo handling, and demands by the unions for guarantees that new technology will not lead to lay offs or undermine unionization.
The demand that improved efficiency, through things as basic as UPC scanners, not lead to any job cuts is ridiculous on its face. They're essentially demanding that the system remain inefficient for their personal benefit. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 8, 2002 8:07 PM
Actually, the ports agreed not to cut any existing jobs, i.e. they can keep their current jobs for life. The true sticking point is that the union wants all the computer geeks that get hired to implement and run these systems to be union employees also. FWIW, the average pay of the union members is $80k.
Posted by: The Other Brother at October 9, 2002 5:23 AM