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IBU’s 26th convention convenes in Seattle

​Delegates honor IBU Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus Terri Mast; look to the future

The 26th convention of the Inlandboatmen’s Union (IBU) met in Seattle on November 12-15. Elected delegates participated in discussions and debates. They worked in committees throughout the week and heard from a variety of speakers including national and international labor leaders, elected officials, and ITF inspectors.

Important decisions made at the convention included resolutions of global solidarity, support for workers organizing unions and fighting for first contracts, and honoring retired IBU Secretary-Treasurer Terri Mast.

A meeting with the International Organizing Department was held on the Monday before the convention to discuss organizing drives and first contract bargaining.

The convention opened with a land acknowledgment and welcome by Tlingit tribal member Kasi Perreira.

IBU President Estrada’s address

In his convention address, IBU President Robert Estrada addressed the challenges facing workers, the IBU, and the labor movement after Donald Trump’s election. He expressed his confidence in the union’s ability to rise to the challenge.

Estrada said that looking back on his career with the IBU, he is most proud of his work serving the union. He recalled that before getting his full-book membership he had an 8-hour weekly shift walking the picket line during the 1987 Crowley strike.

“The labor struggle is what formed me. We have to let the next generation know who we are and what matters,” Estrada said

Estrada touched on the impact of the November elections, which saw Donald Trump return to the White House and Republican control of the House, Senate, and Supreme Court.

“Our job just got a lot harder,” he said. “I think we can surmount these challenges–the IBU has been around since 1918. The Department of Labor is no longer going to be interested in labor.”

Despite these challenges, Estrada said there are also new possibilities. He cited the growing support for and interest in unions by young workers entering the labor force and emerging industries like offshore wind and barge-based emission collections that are potential avenues of growth for the IBU.

Estrada said when he was elected IBU President he had several main points of focus:

  • A renewed focus on the importance of retirement and medical benefits: Estrada said that defending benefits packages in contracts is crucial. He noted that the IBU has recently brought four new companies into defined benefit pension plans in the last few years after decades of not bringing in any. “We are going to bring pensions back into style in the IBU,” he said.
  • The importance of organizing: Estrada noted the plan to attack public and private sector unions outlined in Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump Administration. “It’s going to take a financial commitment to organize as well as time and effort,” he said.
  • The need for mutual respect: Estrada recognized that there will always be disagreements and the importance of debates as part of the union’s democratic process. “Even when we disagree, we can’t see each other as the enemy. This is more important now than ever,” he said.

Guest speakers

The first guest speaker was Washington State Senator Bob Hasegawa who spoke on building working-class power. He used examples from his more than three decades of experience as a leader with Teamsters for a Democratic Union to encourage and inspire delegates and draw out important lessons in building a democratic and inclusive labor movement.

“Building power means organizing people and organizing people is the hardest job in the world,” Hasegawa said.

He was followed by Jaimie Newlyn, Assistant National Secretary for the Maritime Union of Australia who spoke about the importance of international solidarity.

Honoring Terri Mast

The first evening of the convention featured a special banquet to honor IBU Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus Terri Mast and her extraordinary career and contribution to the IBU, maritime workers worldwide, the labor movement, and her mentorship of women leaders in the ILWU.

Terri Mast recently retired as Secretary-Treasurer of the IBU after serving the union in that position for more than thirty years.

Mast was a key figure in the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP) which fought for democracy in the Philippines. Following the assassination of her partner and comrade Silme Domingo by gunmen acting under orders from the Marcos dictatorship of the Philippines, Mast took his place in the union leadership at the ILWU 37 Alaska Cannery Workers Union and embarked on a long battle to win justice for Silme and fellow fallen activist Gene Viernes.

In 1982 Mast was elected President of Local 37, becoming the first woman president of an ILWU local. At the ILWU Convention held this past June in Vancouver, B.C,. a mentorship award was named in Mast’s honor to recognize her important contribution as a mentor to new leaders in the union.

“It’s not easy being the first of something,” Mast said. “Whether it’s the first woman president of an ILWU local or the first national officer in the IBU because you don’t want to be the last. You want to make sure that other women are pulled up and will have that same opportunity. Only by having women in leadership can other women see that it’s possible.”

On the final day of the Convention, the elected IBU delegates paid additional tribute to Sister Mast for all the water she’s carried on behalf of the union. Current IBU Secretary-Treasurer Peter Hart remarked about one of the most important lessons he’s gained from his time working with Terri over the years: “Empathy for those that are different or whom we’re at odds with is the most important or challenging quality to have when doing union work. It’s easy to worry about the livelihoods of people we agree with, but the true test is being able to do so for those we do not. Without that fundamental understanding, unions will never be strong enough to punch up to power.”

ITF Inspectors panel

Wednesday began with a panel discussion with the Inspectors from the International Transport Workers Federation. On the panel were ITF-West Coast Coordinator Ryan Brazeau, ITF-Northern California Inspector Sam Levens, ITF Puget Sound Inspector Cyrus Donato, and ITF Southern California Inspector Joshua Bobic.

Brazeu gave a brief overview of ITF inspectors’ work to protect the wages and living conditions onboard vessels on the West Coast and globally.

The first ITF inspector was appointed in 1971, and today, there is a network of approximately 140 Inspectors based in over 120 ports in 57 countries worldwide. Many ITF Inspectors are former seafarers or dock workers. Their job is to inspect ships calling in their ports, ensure the seafarers have decent pay, working conditions, and living conditions, and enforce ITF agreements on board to ensure compliance.

Inspector Sam Levens gave an overview of how “Flags of Convenience” allow ship owners to flag their ships from countries with few regulations undermining the power of unions and workers, paying them less, and extracting more profits.

“Solidarity isn’t charity,” Levens said, “Seafarers have a tremendous amount of industrial power which is why these shipping companies have created an elaborate shell game to try and keep seafarers vulnerable and disorganized.”

Levens also talked about the conditions inspectors often find onboard vessels including lack of food or rotted food, non-payment, delayed or underpayment of wages, unsafe working conditions, and physical and mental abuse.

Donato gave an overview of the case of the ‘United 6’ that was covered in the April 2024 issue of the Dispatcher. The case involves 24 Filipino fishermen working for California-based McAdam’s Fish who were contracted through Pescadores International, a Filipino labor agency. The workers say they were stranded and isolated on board fishing vessels in Westport, WA for more than three months without receiving their full wages and in substandard conditions.

“If you are bringing workers into the country and not paying them their wages, it’s a form of human trafficking. Let’s call it what it is,” said Donato.

He explained how the lack of immigration status is weaponized against these seafarers. “Foreign fishing workers are uniquely vulnerable to exploitation because the U.S. does not require foreign fishing workers on U.S.-flagged vessels to have work visas which leaves them vulnerable. It’s like a built-in impressment system and it creates the conditions rife for exploitation,” Donato said.

Bobic spoke on how ITF inspectors work with ILWU locals to help protect the rights of seafarers and the jurisdiction of longshore workers.

Tongue Point Academy 

The convention heard a presentation about the Seamanship Program at Tongue Point in Astoria, OR from Acting Manager Mike Sasso. The Academy is funded by Job Corps, a federal training program run by the Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24. The training and education are provided at no cost to the students. They live on campus during their training. Students are placed in internships and receive job placement assistance.

Students graduate from the program with certifications and skills that are in high demand by employers including:

  • Able Bodied Seaman (AB)
  • Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED)
  • Proficiency in Survival Craft/ Lifeboat
  • Navigational Watch
  • Shipboard safety training (firefighting, first aid, personal safety, social responsibilities, and personal survival skills)
  • Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response
  • Steward (Galley)

Sasso also spoke about the impact COVID-19 had on their program and the need for more instructors.

Pensioners & retirees panel 

IBU pensioners Robert Irminger and Jeff Engels spoke about their efforts to form IBU pensioner/retiree groups Engels said the purpose of the groups was threefold:

  • To preserve the history of the IBU and educate new members;
  • Protect the interest of pensioners by ensuring they understand how to apply for all the benefits to which they are entitled;
  • Assist the active membership with political action, support in labor disputes, and other activities that may help the union.

Resolutions adopted

Delegates discussed dozens of proposed resolutions which were debated, amended, and voted on by the body. Key resolutions adopted by the 26th IBU Convention delegates include:

  • Support the Labor Campaign for Single Payer healthcare system
  • Commitment to stand against tyranny and oppression
  • Urge that Cuba be removed from the U.S. State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism
  • Support the call for a cease-fire and the protection of Palestinian and Israeli civilians in the current conflict in the Gaza.
  • Join the National Labor Network for Ceasefire in Gaza
  • Support Starbucks Workers United
  • Support Alcatraz Workers in their struggle for a first contract
  • Invite newly organized IBU members of Leo Marine to build power for maritime workers
  • Express appreciation to the family of Don Little for his contributions to the IBU membership
  • Recognizing the contribution of Terri Mast to the IBU and the labor movement
  • Create an Offshore Wind Committee and negotiate offshore wind jurisdiction in towing and construction contracts
  • Create a plan for the restoration of pension benefits lost by the rehabilitation process

“We had a successful convention and made important decisions that moved the union forward,” said Estrada. “We need to be prepared to not only weather the backlash against organized labor in the coming years but continue to grow the IBU.”