International Longshoremen S And Warehousemen S Union

The Port of Los Angeles was paralyzed Saturday by an unexpected strike of the tiny, 11-member union of pilots who steer huge oil tankers, freighters and passenger vessels through the narrow channels of the nation's second-busiest harbor. Although management personnel were available to navigate the eight ships that arrived Saturday, the walkout halted port operations because longshoremen, who load and unload the massive vessels, refused to cross the pilots' picket line.

A veteran dockworker and labor official from Los Angeles was elected Friday to head the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, among the nation's most powerful labor organizations and one that is facing a range of difficult technological issues on the West Coast. James Spinosa, 59, defeated incumbent Brian McWilliams for president of the San Francisco-based union, which has about 60,000 members in Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Canada.

"An injury to one is an injury to all." For years that classic expression of worker solidarity was well-known to the rank and file at Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. It was emblazoned on the hats and jackets members wore to work in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It topped the letterhead of their union bulletins and was inscribed on a plaque at Local 13's business hall in Wilmington.

After almost seven weeks of contract negotiations, longshore workers shut down the Port of Oakland for the second straight day Wednesday and continued work slowdowns in Los Angeles and Long Beach, actions that may portend more serious labor-management tensions at West Coast ports in the days ahead. The job actions by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union coincide with a break in contract talks with the Pacific Maritime Assn.

Longshore workers at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles joined other West Coast dockworkers Monday in an eight-hour work stoppage to show solidarity with dockworkers in Liverpool, England. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Locals 13 and 63, refused to work between 6 p.m. Monday and 2 a.m. today, demanding the reinstatement of Liverpool dockworkers who were fired during a work dispute two years ago.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union will halt work here and in all West Coast ports today in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a death row inmate whose murder conviction in the slaying of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981 has gained international attention. The action is part of a national day of protest on behalf of Abu-Jamal, whose 17-year effort to win a new trial has become a cause among celebrities, writers, educators and human rights activists in the United States and Europe.

Longshoremen's Union Defeats Tentative Pact: The three-year contract was passed 3,574 to 3,242, but did not gain the 60% of International Longeshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union votes needed for approval, according to union officials. While the agreement offered a 13% pay increase in the base hourly wage over three years, it would have outlawed the bonuses that some longshoremen received for being particularly productive.

With a labor dispute threatening to cause a one-day walkout at West Coast ports, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday agreed to ask Southern Pacific Transportation Co. to reconsider its plans to replace 340 longshoremen with other workers. Last month, the railroad announced that it will not renew a contract with a harbor area company that employs International Longshoremen and Warehousemen Union workers to load port containers onto trains.

The Port of Los Angeles was back in business Sunday night, as port pilots reached agreement with the Los Angeles Harbor Department, ending a two-day strike that had crippled operations at the nation's second-busiest port. Both the pilots and the longshoremen--who walked off the job in sympathy with the tiny 11-member pilots union--went back to work as soon as the settlement was announced at 8 p.m. "We're pleased," said port spokeswoman Julia Nagano.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union will halt work here and in all West Coast ports today in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a death row inmate whose murder conviction in the slaying of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981 has gained international attention. The action is part of a national day of protest on behalf of Abu-Jamal, whose 17-year effort to win a new trial has become a cause among celebrities, writers, educators and human rights activists in the United States and Europe.

A proposed settlement to hire more female longshore workers in the county's ports encountered strong criticism in federal court Thursday, as opponents called the agreement inadequate for women and biased against men. The settlement would require the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to increase the proportion of women in its ranks from 20% to 25% over the next six years in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

"An injury to one is an injury to all." For years that classic expression of worker solidarity was well-known to the rank and file at Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. It was emblazoned on the hats and jackets members wore to work in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It topped the letterhead of their union bulletins and was inscribed on a plaque at Local 13's business hall in Wilmington.

Longshore workers at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles joined other West Coast dockworkers Monday in an eight-hour work stoppage to show solidarity with dockworkers in Liverpool, England. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Locals 13 and 63, refused to work between 6 p.m. Monday and 2 a.m. today, demanding the reinstatement of Liverpool dockworkers who were fired during a work dispute two years ago.

Union Pact Approved Despite Local Opposition: Official results of the recent vote by the International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union approving a new three-year contract show that the pact was decisively voted down by the union's biggest longshore unit, Wilmington-based Local 13. The local, representing longshoremen at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, rejected the contract by more than a 2-1 margin.

A blue-collar union man who spends his working days operating a dockside crane at the Port of Long Beach, Elijah N. Hall readily admits that he has done very well for himself. Hall, 61, who earned about $130,000 last year hoisting cargo, says years of making big money on the docks have enabled him to accumulate eight cars, two motorcycles, a plump stock portfolio and four homes--one of which, he notes with a grin, is on Easy Street in Long Beach.

A tentative agreement giving 8,500 dock workers from Seattle to San Diego a 13% raise over three years has been vetoed by union locals in San Francisco and Los Angeles who are angered over other provisions they say will cut their pay. The bargaining committee of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union had recommended acceptance of the new contract, which would bring base pay to $22.68 per hour. The ILWU said late Thursday that 52% of the votes favored the contract.