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Date: Thu, May 31st, 2012
Los Angeles/Long Beach Waterfront Labor Negotiations Update
OCU Reject Employer's Latest, Improved Offer for a Fair and Reasonable Contract to Ensure Labor Peace at the Ports
LOS ANGELES (May 31, 2012) - The negotiating teams representing employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach released the following statement regarding the status of negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Unit ("OCU"):
In September 2010, after five months of inefficient and ineffective individual company bargaining meetings, the OCU asked to bargain with the fourteen employers in the Harbor Employers Association in a group format as historically has been done, acknowledging that this would be more productive. However, following the Coast Arbitrator's recent ruling allowing the ILWU longshore locals to honor an OCU picket line, the OCU refused to continue the group bargaining and demanded to return to bargaining with one company at a time.
On May 30, the first company with whom the OCU met gave the union two options for a contract, both of which are improvements over the employers' proposal last November. In addition, with the approval of the Pacific Maritime Association, the employer also offered to move its OCU employees into a supplement agreement under the Marine Clerks master agreement. A summary of the employer's complete proposal containing these three options is attached below. Each of the other thirteen employers has made a similar proposal.
The OCU rejected each of the offered options, made no meaningful counter-proposal, and announced that the parties were at impasse. In fact, the OCU's response effectively moved backwards, insisting on even more rigid restraints on the implementation and use of technology than the OCU had asked for in prior proposals.
These latest employer proposals include offers for absolute job security, guaranteed protection against layoffs, a substantial wage increase, guaranteed pay whether or not there is work to do, a 20% pension increase over the term of the contract, and maintenance of all benefits (in and out of network) under the OCU's "Cadillac" health care plan at no cost to the OCU (although the cost of premiums paid by the employer for family coverage under the plan is $41,000 per year). The proposals also maintain all of the OCU's other very generous employment benefits (e.g., an average of 12 weeks of paid time off every year; meal and transportation allowances; early retirement with full benefits; education reimbursement; etc.).
The OCU continues to insist that employers hire new clerical workers where there is no business need to do so, asking employers to match or exceed 2007 staffing levels, despite drastic drops in cargo volumes since that time. It continues to demand that the employers place unacceptable limitations on the use of technology that has made the LA/Long Beach ports more efficient and competitive in recent years (e.g., insisting that vendors call, fax, or mail an OCU worker, rather than use the employer's website to access basic information; or that OCU workers manually enter data into computer systems even where automated data transfers are available and could provide customers and vendors with up-to-date cargo information).
These demands are difficult to grasp in the midst of an economic downturn that has had a particularly severe impact on the container shipping industry and Los Angeles / Long Beach harbor community, where unemployment in Los Angeles County totaled 11.8 percent in February 2012. The OCU's actions reinforce perceptions held by shippers, retailers and other trade partners across the globe that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are being held hostage by union self-interest -- in this case, the interests of 600 office clerks.
SUMMARY OF CUT'S REVISED COMPLETE COUNTERPROPOSAL FOR A NEW
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
May 30, 2012
CUT offers the OCU its choice of the following three options1 for a fair agreement that preserves labor peace at the ports:
OPTION A
If the OCU and the ILWU consent to allow the OCU members to join the ILWU-PMA Pension and Health Plans, CUT is willing to offer:
1. Job Security: Unconditional and absolute no-layoff guarantee for term of agreement.
2. Work Preservation: No OCU work has been or will be outsourced. OCU retains existing jurisdiction. Maintain grievance resolution framework to protect OCU jurisdiction going forward.
3. Health Insurance: Join ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan.
4. Pension: Join ILWU-PMA Pension Plan with pension increases:
|
|
Later of Ratification Date or 7/1/12 |
7/1/13 |
|
Pension MMB * |
$170 |
$180 |
* This offer equals a 20% pension increase over contract term.
5. Wage Increase:
|
|
Later of Ratification Date or 7/1/12 |
7/1/13 |
|
Wage Increase * |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
* Hourly wages per employee will equal a minimum of $87,000+ per year by 2013.
6. Ratification Incentive: Under this option only, if contract is ratified before July 1, 2012, $3,000 incentive payment for each regular, full-time OCU employee employed on July 1, 2012.
7. Pay / Work Guarantee: Guaranteed pay for 40 hour week 52 wks/yr whether there is work or not; plus CUT promises to staff off-hour gate operations with OCU.
8. Paid Time Off: Maintain all PTO levels, including vacation (up to 6+ wks/yr), holidays (up to 23 holidays), sick leave (up to 15 days), paid doctor appointment time (up to 30 hrs), and other forms of leave.
9. Other Benefits: Maintain all other benefits (meal and transportation allowance; early retirement with full benefits; education reimbursement; etc.)
10. Staffing as Needed: Ability to hire permanent and call temporary employees only when there is a business need for work to be performed; agreement to call a necessary temp will not be unreasonably withheld.
11. Technology: CUT has offered to modify existing technology implementation framework in response to OCU concerns about diversion of work. Maintain remainder of framework, which the parties agreed to in 2004 and again in 2007-and for which the employers as a whole provided a 58% increase in the pension MMB and created pension and H&W trusts costing over $1 million a year to operate-so employers can remain competitive within the industry and meet the evolving needs of their customers.
12. Fair Treatment: "Favored nation" language that protects against singling out by union for unfair, punitive wage, benefit, and paid time off provisions.
13. Contract Expires: July 1, 2014
1 This proposal is subject to amendment, modification, or withdrawal at any time during bargaining. Only one of the three options may be accepted and may only be accepted in its entirety. No option may be accepted in part. No combination of provisions from differing options may be accepted. No tentative agreement between the parties as to this proposal, or any part of it, shall constitute a final and binding agreement until the parties have executed a final, signed contract.
OPTION B
1. Job Security: Unconditional and absolute no-layoff guarantee for term of agreement.
2. Work Preservation: No OCU work has been or will be outsourced. OCU retains existing jurisdiction. Maintain grievance resolution framework to protect OCU jurisdiction going forward.
3. Health Insurance: Maintain all current benefits of "Cadillac" health plan in OCU H&W Trust, with no premium payments by OCU (currently costs employers $41,000 per employee per year for family coverage).
4. Pension: Maintain current minimum monthly benefit of $150 per year of credited service (i.e., $63,000 per year for an office clerk with 35 years of service) in OCU Pension Trust.
5. Wage Increase:
|
|
Later of Ratification Date or 7/1/12 |
7/1/13 |
|
Wage Increase * |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
* Hourly wages per employee will equal a minimum of $87,000+ per year by 2013.
6. Pay / Work Guarantee: Guaranteed pay for 40 hour week 52 wks/yr whether there is work or not; plus CUT promises to staff off-hour gate operations with OCU.
7. Paid Time Off: Maintain all PTO levels, including vacation (up to 6+ wks/yr), holidays (up to 23 holidays), sick leave (up to 15 days), paid doctor appointment time (up to 30 hrs), and other forms of leave.
8. Other Benefits: Maintain all other benefits (meal and transportation allowance; early retirement with full benefits; education reimbursement; etc.)
9. Staffing as Needed: Ability to hire permanent and call temporary employees only when there is a business need for work to be performed; agreement to call a necessary temp will not be unreasonably withheld.
10. Technology: CUT has offered to modify existing technology implementation framework to help OCU ensure new technology does not divert OCU work. Maintain remainder of framework, which the parties agreed to in 2004 and again in 2007-and for which the employers as a whole provided a 58% increase in the pension MMB and created pension and H&W trusts costing over $1 million a year to operate-so employers can remain competitive within the industry and meet the evolving needs of their customers.
11. Fair Treatment: "Favored nation" language that protects against singling out by union for unfair, punitive wage, benefit, and paid time off provisions.
12. Cost Management: Facilitate contract cost management by paying for retiree medical health insurance as incurred (maintains retiree health benefits); same as under ILWU-PMA H&W Trust
13. Contract Expires: July 1, 2014
OPTION C
As with Northern California OCU, if the ILWU agrees, PMA remains willing to offer the following, which ensures that LA/LB OCU employees (like Oakland OCU) are always treated the same as the Longshoremen and Marine Clerks:
- OCU members will work under a supplement to the Marine Clerks Pacific Coast Clerks' Contract Document, i.e., OCU members will not be moved to Marine Clerk jobs; there will be one supplement for Office Clerks and one for Operations Clerks (i.e., Boarding/Husbanding Agents and Port Captains).
- All permanent employees will become registered Class "A" ILWU Marine Clerks, but will continue working at the same company they are working at today.
- To provide continuity and stability for OCU employees, for the companies, and for customers and vendors, the supplements will contain a "work stabilization" provision to allow each company to retain its "steady" employees for an agreed number of years.
- Office Clerks and Operations Clerks will retain the seniority they have obtained as OCU members.
- Office Clerks will receive the same wage as the Marine Clerks, and will be guaranteed pay for five shifts per week at 8 hours straight time and 2 hours of overtime per shift on the same terms as Marine Clerks.
- Join the ILWU Pension Plan and receive the same pension as the Marine Clerks.
- Join the ILWU Health Plan and receive the same health and welfare benefits as the Marine Clerks.
- Office Clerks and Operations Clerks will perform the same work that OCU employees perform now; jurisdiction will be preserved, but not expanded.
- Office Clerks and Operations Clerks will receive all other benefits provided to Marine Clerks; OCU employees will not lose any vested benefits.
About the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association
The Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association is a not-for-profit association representing shipping agencies and terminal operators in Southern California. The Association assists its members in matters relating to the employment of ILWU Local 63 office clerical employees, including the administration of the labor contracts of member companies.
For more information, visit our website: www.harboremployers.com
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Link: http://www.harboremployers.com/web/news/press/details/?LOS-ANGELES-LONG-BEACH-WATERFRONT-LABOR-NEGOTIATIONS-UPDATE-49
