Willie Seymore was both exhausted and elated when he stepped off the plane from New York to Savannah last Saturday afternoon.
For more than a week, the president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1414 had been part of the ILA team negotiating with the U.S. Maritime Alliance to forge a new labor contract before a strike shut down major ports from Maine to Texas.
With a lot at stake and talks coming down to the wire, it was Seymore who called for a vote shortly before 11 last Friday night. His motion was seconded, and the vote to accept the contract carried.
“I’ve been in a lot of negotiations, but I’ve never seen a more emotional reaction,” Seymore said this week.
“Management and labor were hugging each other. There were tears of joy. We all knew what was at stake and what we were able to avoid,” he said. “We were close to shutting down the eastern half of our country to commerce.”
As well as avoiding economic disaster, the agreement restored his faith in the process, Seymore said.
“If anyone tries to tell you the spirit of collective bargaining is dead in America, I can tell you they weren’t in that room last week.
“Not only is it alive and well, it works.”
Seymore had high praise for everyone involved in the intense and sometimes contentious back-and-forth.
Despite sitting on opposite sides of the table, ILA President Harold Daggett and U.S. Maritime Alliance Chairman and CEO James Capo conducted themselves as gentlemen throughout the entire process, Seymore said.
“Their leadership and determination to succeed made this happen,” he said.
“And I can’t say enough about (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director) George Cohen. He truly kept us on track.”
The final push
With a six-year master contract tentatively agreed upon, talks resumed this week as the ILA and management at several ports work on local agreements that must be decided before the contract can be put to a final vote.
The union will continue to work while local discussions take place, with both sides optimistic that the end is in sight.
Joe Bonney, senior editor of the Journal of Commerce, reported that bargaining sessions were planned this week in several ports and are expected to continue through most or all of February.
No details have been released on the tentative master contract and likely won’t be until local issues are resolved and the contract is ratified, he said.
The largest and most contentious local contract is between the ILA and the New York Shipping Association, which is seeking changes to work rules and practices in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
That port, home to 3,250 of the 14,500 ILA workers covered by the master contract, is the largest by far on the East Coast and third in the country, behind only the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
In a statement released earlier this week, Daggett said he’s confident ILA members will be pleased with the tentative master agreement.
“I know ILA members will be satisfied with the results of our negotiating efforts thus far,” Daggett said. “Although the two sides cannot release complete details of this still-unfinished contract, I can assure my membership that the protections for our jurisdiction and increased benefits and wages were achieved.
“We have come away from these master contract negotiations with landmark agreements on automation, protection of chassis work and powerful jurisdiction language,” he said.
“We turn our full attention now to achieving equally successful local contract agreements. And we look forward to our members expressing their voice in the ratification process of the full contract package.”
‘Rank and file happy’
Seymore was equally upbeat, adding that he believes the majority of ports involved have already resolved their issues.
“We’re good in Savannah, but that’s nothing new,” he said. “The relationship we’ve had with (GPA executive director) Curtis Foltz has always been one of mutual respect and understanding. We know how important it is to work together. He’s one of the true professionals in the shipping industry, and we appreciate his leadership.
“The vast majority of my rank and file is happy with our contract.”
Seymore said he had a few young members who were pushing for a strike.
“But that was because they’ve never experienced a strike and didn’t know what they would be getting into,” he said. “They haven’t seen the devastation a strike causes businesses, families and the community.”
Union representatives at most of the other ports he’s spoken with are on board with the contract, Seymore said.
“North Carolina, South Carolina, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale are good,” he said. “For the most part, I think Houston, Galveston and Hampton Roads (Va.) have their issues worked out as well.
“Now the Port of New York/New Jersey has to work out their concerns. They are a huge port — they move 35 million tons of cargo every year – and they are extremely important to the economic health of our country,” Seymore said.
“I’m very confident they will get this done.”
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GCT MSC ORIANE Today
GCT ASIR Today
GCT ZIM SHENZHEN Today
GCT MSC BARCELONA Saturday
GCT ANNA MAERSK Saturday
GCT EVER DELUXE Saturday
GCT MSC MESSINA Saturday
GCT UASC DOHA Saturday
GCT OOCL BRITAIN Saturday
OT CARMEN Saturday
GCT MUSTAFA DAYI Sunday
GCT SAIGON EXPRESS Sunday
GCT E.R. DENMARK Sunday
OT STAR LIMA Sunday
OT TAMERLANE Sunday
GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Monday
GCT PORTLAND EXPRESS Monday
GCT CONTI HARMONY Monday
GCT NCC SAMA Monday
GCT MSC TORONTO Monday
GCT CMA CGM MATISSE Monday
GCT SEOUL EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT MAERSK DERINCE Tuesday
GCT XENA Tuesday
GCT MOL EFFICIENCY Tuesday
GCT VERACRUZ EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT YM MILESTONE Tuesday
GCT RIO THELON Tuesday
GCT ZIM COLOMBO Tuesday
GCT NYK METEOR Tuesday
GCT HANJIN MARSEILLES Tuesday
GCT YM EMINENCE Wednesday
GCT SEA-LAND CHAMPION Wednesday
GCT HYUNDAI FORWARD Wednesday
GCT MOL PRESENCE Wednesday
GCT FOUMA Wednesday
OT SAUDI TABUK Wednesday
GCT BUXCLIFF Thursday
GCT XIN SU ZHOU Thursday
GCT CMA CGM JAMAICA Thursday
GCT ZIM BEIJING Thursday
GCT MAERSK DAUPHIN Thursday
GCT MAERSK ROUBAIX Thursday
GCT SAN FRANCISCO EXPRESS Thursday