The global pandemic has pushed the supply chain to the brink and claimed at least 12 Longshore lives
ILWU Longshore workers have been loading and unloading cargo nonstop on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since February 2020, when cruise ships first arrived in U.S. West Coast ports with infected passengers and their cargo, igniting questions about how to protect workers and the community from the virus.
Shortly thereafter, in late February and early March, states of emergency were declared in Washington, California, and Oregon, followed by shelter in place orders up and down the West Coast. ILWU workers were promptly deemed essential and have continued to work through the health crisis.
Workplace safety protocols
The ILWU acted early to negotiate for protective equipment and procedures with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).
“By negotiating for safer COVID-19 worker protocols, well before state and federal legislators got to it, ILWU workers demonstrated that workers united in a labor union have the power to not only make their own worksites safer than they would be otherwise, but also to strengthen the economy and the response to crisis by keeping the ports open and operating for the greater good,” said ILWU International President Willie Adams.
Most of the PMA employers followed the negotiated guidelines, including enhanced cleaning, illness tracking and other protocols, giving Longshore workers some measure of protection as they continued by necessity to ride shuttle busses among the port terminals and interact with other workers to get the job done.
“In some instances, when PMA employers disregarded the protective protocols, employer compliance was obtained only after ILWU representatives and workers threatened to stand by on health and safety, which is our contractual right,” said Ramon Ponce de Leon, President of ILWU Local 13.
The protocols laid out by the union and the PMA employers initially succeeded in keeping a much-feared COVID health crisis at bay and kept marine terminals operating, which is a testament to their efforts. In fact, following a dip in cargo movement in the spring of 2020, imports came roaring back to record-breaking levels in the summer and fall, and ILWU workers were lauded for their courage and hard work.
ILWU adapts, breaks records
Port of Los Angeles Executive Gene Seroka, in his State of the Port speech in January of 2021, said, “Our container business in 2020 was the most erratic we have ever seen, with volumes plunging nearly 19% in the first five months of the year, followed by an unprecedented second-half surge. Our ILWU longshore workforce did a great job adapting to the huge swings in volume, as did port truckers and everyone else involved in moving cargo through our Port.”
“Longshore workers are proud of the work we’ve done through the pandemic, loading American exports that keep the local, state and national economy going, and unloading imported products necessary to stock our supermarkets’ shelves and fight COVID-19,” said ILWU Coast Committeeman Frank Ponce De Leon. “We’re moving containers that contain Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including masks, face shields, gowns and gloves, as well as more complex lifesaving equipment such as ventilators, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and cardiopulmonary bypass devices.”
By year-end, ILWU workers had moved 9.2 million containers through the Port of Los Angeles alone, and an additional 8.1 million through the Port of Long Beach.
“The ILWU will continue to fight in the workplace and in the public arena for the health and safety of our workers. Saving lives is our number one priority.”
Pandemic’s deadly impacts on the docks
Sadly, the boom of cargo imports coincided with Americans experiencing “pandemic fatigue” and then-President Trump continuously calling the pandemic a hoax. Community adherence to stay-at-home orders and mask mandates waned, and successive waves of illness grew to astronomical levels.
By January of 2021, nearing a million infected in the Southern California port communities alone, more than three million statewide, and 140,000 in Oregon and 310,000 in Washington, workplace safeguards could not sufficiently protect the men and women who worked on the docks.
Local 94 President Danny Miranda observed COVID infections increasing and has, like many ILWU workers, lost friends to the virus. Miranda cited the shuttle buses between terminals, working together in the hold of a ship, lashing side-by-side with a partner, and pulling slings while discharging breakbulk cargo as some of the many ways that contact is unavoidable.
Since November 30, 2020 through the first 25 days of 2021, the number of COVID-19 infections among Longshore workers at the twin Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach alone has almost surpassed the total cases reported in the final eight months in 2020. At the time of publication, at least 1,068 ILWU workers on the West Coast have reported testing positive for COVID-19, and tragically, at least 12 have died from the virus.
Pacific Coast Pensioners Association president Greg Mitre said that the deaths of fellow ILWU workers, pensioners and auxiliary members is hitting everyone hard.
“Not being able to see them, not being able to have a service for them, it’s really impactful,” said Mitre. “Out of respect, we want to show the family that the person was well-liked and respected.”
Sounding alarm on supply chain
Local, state and federal officials were among those who have sounded the alarm at the prospect of not having enough healthy port workers available to load and unload the ships that export American products and import medical supplies necessary to fight the global pandemic.
State Senator Lena Gonzalez, State Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, Congressman Alan Lowenthal, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Los Angeles Councilmember Joe Buscaino, and Long Beach Councilmember Cindy Allen wrote to state officials on Jan. 12:
“As we continue to weather the current COVID-19 surge, especially in Southern California, port workers contracting COVID-19 could have disastrous consequences for the movement of goods, food, and medical supplies that Californians are depending upon in this time of crisis. This includes especially critical pandemic response goods such as personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitizer, medical equipment, and more. Moreover, emergency regulations recently promulgated by California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board could further exacerbate constraints on critical supply chains if workers fall ill by requiring continuous testing of all employees and taking exposed individuals out of the workforce.”
Despite nonstop efforts from union officials and elected leaders, Longshore workers still do not have elevated priority in getting the vaccine as of the time of publication. While the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine finally promises a light at the end of this very dark tunnel, distribution remains haphazard.
Number One priority is saving lives
“We’re a full year into a global pandemic, and Longshore workers have seen both record-breaking cargo imports and the heartbreaking deaths of our colleagues,” said Mike Podue, President of ILWU Local 63. “These losses connect us all on an emotional, visceral level. They also fuel our continued effort to bring our union strength to bear as the ILWU fights to implement and maintain safeguards for dockworkers up and down the West Coast.”
Pensioners President Mitre said that pensioners have organized to help one another avoid contact with the deadly virus. “We asked for volunteers and had eight or 10 at a time, sometimes as many as 15, volunteers to pick up groceries and prescriptions, and safely drop them off with no contact, no questions asked. People are really going above and beyond.”
The Coast Longshore Division’s web site lists all West Coast Port Counties, with COVID infection and mortality risk updated daily with information from the Center for Disease Control, at ilwulongshore.org/covid-today.
ILWU officials at every level continue to fight. Coast Committeeman Frank Ponce De Leon said, “The ILWU will continue to fight in the workplace and in the public arena for the health and safety of our workers. Saving lives is our number one priority.”