Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney On Lockout of West Coast Dockworkers 

The AFL-CIO condemns the Pacific Maritime Association's (PMA) 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.

John Sweeney with ILWU Auxiliary #3 President Leona Cunningham
Sweeney's visit to Seattle in 1998