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Statement
by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney On Lockout of West Coast Dockworkers
The
AFL-CIO condemns the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)’s hasty and
irresponsible decision to lock out more than 10,000 dockworkers on the
West Coast. These
workers are ready and willing to work.
That’s why, in a show of good faith, they’ve continued to
bargain beyond the contract expiration date for three months, and have
moved record amounts of cargo in that time.
The
Bush Administration should publicly pledge that it will not intervene in
the collective bargaining process, and under no circumstances use troops
to support a lockout and undermine the basic rights of American workers.
National
security absolutely must be a part of these negotiations.
The PMA has repeatedly refused to let security issues be
discussed at the table - and, in fact, has made proposals that would
make the ports less secure. Dockworkers
have been working for over a year with local and federal officials to
assure greater security for our ports and want port security to be
included in negotiations. PMA
members are resisting efforts that may be more costly, but would make
our ports safer, such as providing a list of goods on any ship 24 hours
before it departs from a foreign port for the
United States
.
The PMA should work with the union in an effort to make sure the
jobs are safe. The ILWU
reports that five workers have died in the last seven months during a
period of incredibly high cargo volume through the ports.
Any worker injuries or deaths are too high a price to pay for
companies’ “just in time” delivery.
Finally,
the PMA’s proposal to end the 40-year agreement under which jobs
created by technology are union jobs is fundamentally an effort to strip
dockworkers of their freedom to have a voice and a union on the job.
The
PMA should end the lock out, go back to the table, and negotiate a
contract that addresses safety, port security and allows port workers to
keep a voice on the job.
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