Ports of the Delaware River Marine Trade Association (PMTA)
 
 

An occasional newsletter concerning activities on the South Jersey, Philadelphia and Wilmington waterfronts.

JULY 2000

USMX-CCC-ILA Contract Extension

In an effort to continue industry stability and labor security, USMX, the CCC and the ILA agreed to a three year contract extension to September 30, 2004.Through its membership in USMX, the PMTA has agreed to the three year extension on Master Contract issues.

USMX is an association of Carriers, Port Associations and individual stevedoring companies concerned with the betterment of the maritime industry from Maine to Texas.

The highlights of the extension are as follows:

1). Extension from 10/1/2001 to 9/30/2004. for Master Contract as well as Local Agreements pertaining to Master Contract issues.

2). Wage Increases. At the end of the current contract 9/30/01, the wage rate for long-term employees for Master Contract cargo is $25.00 per hour straight time. In addition, $1.00 per hour increase will be given 10/1/2001 and $1.00 per hour increase will be given 12/1/2002 for a total of $27.00 per hour. Employees making less than $24.00 will be given the same $2.00 per hour increases as described above. New employees entering the industry on or after October 1, 2001, will have an entry rate of $15 per hour. Such employees shall receive the increase of $1.00 an hour effective October 1, 2002, if they are employed prior to that date.

3). MILA. The $4.00 per hour contribution shall be increased to $4.50 per hour 10/1/2001 and to $5.00 per hour 10/1/2002. The above money is dedicated to continuing a defined contribution welfare plan. The Trustees of MILA shall make adjustments in the plan as may be necessary to provide benefits within the contributions available.

4). 700 Hour Plan. A "700 Hour Plan" will be implemented by MILA on January 1, 2001 for those employees who worked between 700 and 999 hours in the prior contract year. Benefits will be 70% of those provided by the MILA National Health Plan to employees with 1,000 hours or more of work in the prior contract year.

5). Future Local Welfare Protection.$.50 per hour will be paid to the Carrier-ILA Container Royalty Fund ("CRF"), effective October 1, 2002, to support MILA benefits and local port welfare benefits.

6). Container Cap. The Container Royalty Cap has been changed. Starting on October 1, 2002, the carriers will receive 60% (reduced from 75% which they presently receive) and the ILA members will receive supplemental cash benefits equal to 20% of the bench-mark excess. The remaining 20% will be paid to the CRF Fund for the support of MILA benefits and local port welfare benefits.

7). Productivity. Productivity provisions of the current Master Agreement must be implemented by October 1, 2001. If there are any conflicts between this reporting and the contract language, the contract language will prevail

PMTA-ILA LOCAL NEGOTIATIONS

Through the life of our current local labor agreement, the PMTA and the ILA were able to negotiate a contract that provided a good wage and fringe benefit package to the ILA workforce while reducing costs to our customers. The end result, to date, has been an unprecedented increase in man-hours and work opportunities for our labor force. We have reached close to the point of full employment for our workforce. For the first time in over a decade we have opened our rolls and allowed new employees to register and make a living in our industry. The communities around the Port region are bustling with life and activity. If we are not careful though, we can easily slip back to the days when it was difficult for our workforce to attain benefit eligibility. The Ports of the Delaware River region rely heavily upon general cargo and not containerized cargo to supply the man-hours to our labor force. The man-hours generated by the ILA through the PMTA Employer Members are comprised of approximately 35% container hours and 65% general cargo hours.

While the Master Contract extension applies to container issues, our bread and butter, general cargo issues remain to be resolved. In the Master Contract, the Lines agreed to $2.00 in wage increases and $1.50 in fringe benefit increases over the three-(3) year period.

General cargo is more sensitive to rate increases than containerized cargo. Containers do not have the same type and amount of non-ILA competition that general cargo has. There are numerous non-ILA facilities up and down the Delaware competing for our cargo. Last year, steel cargoes were a major reason our hours increased so significantly. Today, most of that steel is at non-ILA facilities.

There are too many alternatives for this cargo in our region. We are competing with 11 different workforces in our river. Since general cargo comprises a majority of our hours and faces keen competition, rate increases may put us at a competitive disadvantage. ($2.00 wage increase and $1.50, fringe benefit increase).

After the third year of our present . contract, our total hours had increased approximately 40%. Since our $1.00 fringe benefit increase on October 1, 1999, our hours have tapered off 4%. Increases on general cargo could drastically reduce our hours and thus job opportunities. What good is a contract if you can't attract the cargo to your port? Recent history proved to us that the contract is useless without the work. We must once again be creative and cooperative when we come to the bargaining table to resolve local contract issues. It is and always will be the intent of the PMTA to offer the best contract it can afford without chasing away the cargo that has recently built this port up.

Shortly, we will commence local negotiations. We will once again attempt to negotiate a fair and equitable contract for both sides. But we must keep in mind that we are a service industry and we must take. care of our customers. We have to offer a good, quality product at a fair and competitive price. That is the PMTA's goal.
 
 

PMTA-ILA TRAINING PROGRAM

Through the collaborative efforts of State Representative William Keller (former Local 1291 member), James T. McDermott of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, the ILA, the PMTA with its Employer Members and the financial support of the - State of Pennsylvania, we have developed a powered industrial truck training program with the Community College of Philadelphia.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has mandated that all employees must be certified in the operating of Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT). In an effort to train our workforce, the State of Pennsylvania, through the Shipyard College and the PRPA, has come up with a comprehensive training program for:

a). Yard Hustler Operators

b). Forklift Operators, of forklifts with a lifting capacity of less than 18,000 lbs.

c). Forklift Operators of forklifts with a lifting capacity of greater than 18,000 lbs.

d). Top Pick Operators.

Under the OSHA regulations, this training must be completed by October 2001 for experienced operators and by June 2001 for inexperienced operators.

A trial class was held on July 17, 2060 with five students successfully completing their certification. The full blown training will begin on Monday, July 31, 2000. PMTA will mail out registration forms within the next few weeks. The forms will be mailed out in. groups and not en masse. If you don't get your form in the first mailing, you should receive it shortly.

Yard hustlers certification and forklifts less than 18,000 lbs. certification are stand alone certifications. If you want to receive certification for greater than 18,000 lbs. forklift certification, you must first successfully complete the- less than 18,000 lbs. forklift certification. If you want to receive the top pick certification, you must first receive the less than 18,000 lbs. and greater than 18,000 lbs. certification. The classes will consist of the following: Forklift: . .

1). Forklift Less than 18,000 lbs.

4 Hours Classroom 4 Hours Hands-On and Certification Test

2). Forklift Greater than 18,000 lbs.

2 Hours Classroom, 6 Hours Hands-On and Certification Test.

Top Pick

2 Hours Classroom, 6 Hours Hands-On and Certification Test

4). Yard Hustler

8 Hours Classroom, 2 Hours Hands-On and Certification Test

THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO HELP YOU GET CERTIFIED AS REQUIRED BY OSHA. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO MAKE YOU FAIL. SPECIAL ASSISTANCE WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO NEED IT. THE PROGRAM IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO EXCLUDE. WE WANT YOU TO BE CERTIFIED AS REQUIRED BY LAW.

If you need special assistance, arrangements can and will be made to help you. Please do not fear this certification process. Every effort will be made to help you pass.

If you think you can pass the certification process, arrangements can be made for you to by-pass the class and go right to the certification process. The certification process includes a written true or false, multiple choice test and hands on application. If you by-pass the course and go ,right to the certification process, but you fail to be certified, you are still eligible to go back and take the class and certification.

EVERY EFFORT WILL BE MADE TO HELP YOU RECEIVE THE CERTIFICATION YOU WANT AND REQUIRE.

We will make every effort to seek compensation from the Carriers Container Council/ILA Container Freight Station (Training Fund) for Basic Unit employees successfully completing certification training. Watch for the information in the mail.

LONGSHOREMAN ASSISTS IN RESCUE

On Thursday, July 13, 2000, two people were out jet skiing in the Delaware River near Tioga Marine Terminal. A day of fun quickly turned into a day of near tragedy. One of the jet skiers reportedly hit a pier and fell off his jet ski. Employees of Delaware River Stevedores, Inc. at Tioga Marine Terminal noticed the individual floating down the river and quickly called for emergency rescue. Upon arrival at Tioga Marine Terminal, the rescue crew was faced with the task of safely removing the victim from the water. A quick thinking Joe Kuzinski,a member of ILA, Local 1291 for 26 years, jumped into the container crane, picked up a flat rack and lowered it for the rescuers to board so the jet skier could be pulled from the river. Mr. Kuzinski was not recognized for his efforts by the media, so we just wanted to take this time to commend him and the other DRS employees for a job well done. CONGRATULATIONS!

PORTS OF PHILADELPHIA MARITIME SOCIETY

CRAB FEAST

The Ports of Philadelphia Maritime Society 31st Annual Crab Feast will be held at Cannstatter'son Friday, August 18, 2000. Tickets for this event are $35.00 per person. The time is 12:00 Noon to 6:OO.P.M (RAIN OR SHINE) For information and directions, please call Theresa Penotat (215) 925-8078.

Ports of the Delaware River Marine Trade Assn. Suite 301, Port Administration Building 3460 North Delaware Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19134