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Container ship NYK Themis in the Port of Los Angeles. [Photo by Downtowngal / CC BY-SA 4.0]

Workers are furious at the last-minute announcement this month of a tentative agreement between the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) for over 22,000 West Coast dockers. The deal was announced after union bureaucracy forced dockers to remain on the job for nearly a year with an expired contract.

The announcement that a tentative deal had been reached followed months of slowdowns in West Coast ports initiated by ordinary workers. Worker industrial action increased earlier in the month after workers found out the PMA originally proposed a meager $1.62 wage increase.

While workers in America took industrial action, over 7,000 longshoremen in Canada voted in favor of the strike by a majority of 99 percent. Fearing a joint struggle with Canadian dockers who are also ILWU members, Wall Street called on the Biden administration to step in and push through a deal.

The White House dispatched Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su after the strike authorization vote. A tentative settlement was reportedly reached between the PMA and the ILWU within three days of Su’s arrival in San Francisco. In statements announcing the agreement, both the ILWU and PMA noted Su’s leadership role in enforcing the agreement.

Su was deputy labor secretary last year when the self-proclaimed “most pro-union” president in history dictatorially imposed a collective bargaining agreement on railroad workers. In a repeat of this attack on workers’ democratic rights, the Biden administration is also trying to force a deal on dockers that falls far short of what they are demanding.

Since the agreement was announced, both the PMA and ILWU have remained silent, giving members few details while demanding that workers “focus” and get back to work.

In a video released last Friday, ILWU President Willie Adams claimed that the tentative agreement will be reviewed next month by a faction of 29 bureaucrats. These talks are kept secret from the base. After this faction reaches an agreement, the TA is taken to each location for some members to review. However, even among the dockers, it is unclear who is actually allowed to view and vote on the contract in the individual bars.

“I am so outraged by the alleged tentative agreement,” a docker from Tacoma, Washington, wrote to the WSWS. “The corporations see all the huge profits and give us a pay cut basically equal to the cost of living!” What a joke the Biden administration was because they were supposed to be helping us. You have betrayed us.”

Another Tacoma worker wrote, “I think this agreement is a joke and I will be voting NO!!! This is an insult to all of us who worked so hard while our brothers and sisters were dying of this pandemic just to line the pockets of these companies under the pretense of helping the American people and the US economy. This is a slap in the face to all union members who have sacrificed so much.”

Referring to a one-time “hero bonus” included in the deal, the docker said, “The one-time $70 million “hero bonus” comes from the federal government, not the shipping companies. Inflation is over 10 percent and wage increases are only 5 percent. We are literally moving backwards. We’ll be broke and we’ll rely on these companies even more than we did before the contract. This is not good business. That’s not what we deserve. If our total cost to our employer is less than 2 percent of their total cost of ownership, then there is a problem.”

“Most members are not happy with the pension offer, so next month’s meeting will see it largely rejected,” added another West Coast docker. “Every place has different rules for the ratification process. In Los Angeles, I don’t even know if casual workers are allowed to be there or not.”

Daniel, a part-time docker from Northern California, told the WSWS that depending on the location, many workers are unable to attend the union meetings that will discuss July election decisions.

“They do that in every negotiation,” Daniel explained. “The body doesn’t really know all the details. If they have a caucus, they’ll tear the contract apart. If you’re not in the caucus, you can’t see what’s in the contract. Only A-men in some places [the highest seniority workers] Join the conversation. In our hall, the B-men can talk. In some halls the casuals [the lowest tier, with no contractual rights] can’t even come to the meeting.”

“The A-men [most senior workers] are dissatisfied because they increased the pension,” he added. “If you have 20 years, multiply that by $215 a year, that’s about $4,000 a month. They say it should be $300 to $350 per month per year.”

“She [management] “I don’t want to hire new employees because they don’t want to pay a pension or health insurance,” he continued, “but they made $300 billion last year.” It’s the same with UPS.

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“Even though they say we have a vet, I don’t think we have a vet,” he said. “I think that’s just something they said to get the media to cave in. Many shippers say they will not bring the cargo back until we have a signed agreement.”

“The problem is that the government shouldn’t even be involved. This woman [Su], she is terrible. The pension didn’t increase, the 401(k) amount didn’t even increase. Casuals didn’t get promoted, so what did she do? Absolutely nothing.

“If they sign this agreement, by 2028 we will be in such a deep crisis that we will never be able to pick ourselves up again,” he concluded. “We should be making $60 an hour a year, and every year we should get a $5 an hour raise, so $90 at the end of the contract.” Plumbers at the airport make $100 an hour. There are only about 22,000 dockers. A raise wouldn’t cost them much.”

Workers around the world want to fight for what they earn, be it Canadian longshoremen or American UPS workers, both of whom voted overwhelmingly to go on strike last month. There is an ingrained hatred not only for the corporations that have reaped huge profits off the blood and sweat of workers, but also for the union apparatus that has aided them in their attacks on workers.

West Coast dockers need to learn from the experiences of the Rail Workers Rank and File Committee, set up to oppose a conspiracy between the union bureaucracy, company and government to enforce last year’s collective bargaining agreement. They must organize independent action committees to break the information blackout, organize democratic discussions outside the reach of pro-business homing pigeons in the union bureaucracy, and plan joint action.

Make your voice heard! Tell us what your working conditions are like and what you are fighting for. We protect your anonymity.

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Registered nurses at the San Francisco Chinese Hospital are proud to have reached a preliminary settlement on their first union agreement, the California Nurses Association / National Nurses United (CNA / NNU) announced today.

The three-year agreement with strong protection for patients and nurses follows the vote by Chinese hospital doctors in August 2019 to join the CNA / NNU and a strike for safe patient care in May this year. Nurses say they have been strong to win this incredible mandate and know it will benefit the community for years to come.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have this agreement and we know it will help us recruit and retain skilled nurses, especially the bilingual nurses that are so important to our patient population,” said Sherry Yee, medical- surgical nurse. “The nurses at the Chinese hospital stayed on course in our contract battle, and we are really proud to have won so many important safeguards that will help us deliver the safe patient care that the people in our community deserve.”

Contract highlights include:

Economic benefits for recruiting and retaining experienced nurses: The contract includes wage increases of at least 10% over three years and a grading on a pay scale that guarantees annual pay increases and tenure increases. RNs also received ratification bonuses. Nurses say the economic benefits will help skilled nurses stay in the Chinese hospital to care for patients in the community.

Nursing-led committees to empower patient advocacy and address staff, job security, and other issues that affect safe patient care conditions.

Improved Access to Paid Time Off (PTO): Chinese hospital nurses have sacrificed during the pandemic and many have not taken or postponed vacation, which will improve in the future. The new contract gives caregivers more flexibility to care for loved ones who may be away from work or school.

Fixed contribution limits for health insurance: Nurses were there every day during this pandemic to look after the patients and they deserve care in return. The new contract provides for free health care in 2022 and sets firm limits on contributions to health care in the future.

Job security and complaints procedure: The Chinese hospital can no longer discipline nurses without meeting the standard for the just cause. RNs now have an enforcement process to challenge breaches of contract and unjustified disciplinary action. In addition, the Chinese hospital must notify any operational changes.

Opportunities for improvement: Entry-level nurses will advance to Personal Nurse 2 without undue delays in accordance with area standards.

Nurses say these highlights and other key contract features will have a long-lasting positive impact on the community.

“Safe staffing is critical to safe patient care, and this agreement helps us attract and retain long-standing, experienced nurses. We couldn’t be more excited and proud to have won our very first union contract, and we know having strong written patient and care protection will make a huge difference, ”said Alson Toy, Surgery and Recovery Nurse.

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SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Unified School District took a major step towards reopening schools on Saturday by signing a tentative agreement with a group of unions on health and safety standards for personal learning for students of all grades from preschool to high School has met.

The tentative agreement covers basic health and safety standards, including the return of students to classrooms when the city and county reach the red tier of California’s blueprint for a safer economy, like the California’s, according to district and union officials Ministry of Health and all employees returning to schools or workplaces “had the opportunity (authorization and access) to get vaccinated at the recommended dose,” a district announcement said.

Students could also return when the city and county hit orange or lower, “regardless of vaccine availability,” the district said.

“I would like to thank all of the district employees who have been working for months to get our schools ready so we can get back safely as soon as possible,” said District Manager Dr. Vincent Matthews in a statement. “This agreement would not have been possible without their efforts. I look forward to opening our school doors so more staff can start preparing to welcome the students back. “

Union leaders said a number of items included in the tentative agreement were proposed by workers in December, including helping the district to prioritize vaccines, availability and educate members; Masks and PPE for students and staff; socially distant classrooms and work areas; regular tests for students and staff; Health examinations; Ventilation upgrade and monitoring; a “safe and effective” cleaning protocol; and a contact trace and ladder diagram with the County Department of Public Health.

The availability of vaccine doses remains a problem.

“This agreement creates the conditions for the safe reopening of schools in San Francisco. Now we need city and state officials to reinforce school staff and provide vaccines while the UESF continues to focus on making classroom and timetable arrangements and distance learning for students and families who choose not to even return to keep improving with these standards, ”said Susan Solomon, president of United Educators of San Francisco.

Talks between the district and its unions began in September. The city announced on Wednesday that it would file a lawsuit to obtain a court order to instruct the district and the Board of Education to work out a plan to provide face-to-face learning as safely and as quickly as possible .

“After months of consistently at the table, we’ve known all along that the key to protecting our entire school community and reducing transmission in a school environment would require multiple layers of protection, and we’re confident that this agreement can be made to do exactly that, ”said Caroline Satoda, president of the United Administrators of San Francisco and supervisor in the district’s professional growth and development department.

“Skilled construction workers are ready to reopen learning centers safely and in the best possible conditions,” said Rudy Gonzalez, SF Building & Construction Trades. “We are still aware of the limitations due to underfunding, retention and staffing issues, but we see hope in this agreement. We look forward to receiving assistance from our federal, state, and local leaders in creating learning environments and facilities that are worthy of our students. “

The preliminary agreement “does not address or resolve any negotiable implications of the district’s hybrid teaching plan,” the SFUSD said. “The district continues to meet with the United Educators of San Francisco to finalize negotiations on the negotiable impact of hybrid education.”

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