Negotiating committee: (From left to right) Tony Flaherty, Bryson
Tripp and Nick Erb.
ILWU Local 7 Clerical workers at the Port of Bellingham have ratified a three-year contract that covers receptionists, clerks, accountants, secretaries, and operation specialists who work at Bellingham’s seaside port facilities and nearby airport until 2022. The Negotiating Committee was composed of veterans Bryson Tripp and Tony Flaherty – along with recently drafted member and natural horse-trader Nick Erb. Four years ago, Flaherty and Tripp represented the same group of workers and helped secure their last contract negotiated under very different circumstances.
The economy then was still under major duress and some port commissioners were indifferent and recalcitrant. So the bargaining team played the long game by developing a working relationship with the Bellingham community. Enter ILWU Lead Organizer, Jon Brier, who held several trainings and coaching sessions that helped the group discover their power away from the bargaining table. By organizing and uniting the group, Brier helped them identify their natural allies in the community, such as other labor organizations like Jobs with Justice, and in turn, amplify their power at the table with several very public displays of solidarity. With this larger base in the community and with generous help from ILWU retirees like John Munson, the whole bargaining unit soon realized they could punch well above their weight.
The results were better than expected, but still far from what was needed to keep up with Bellingham’s rising cost of living. Since that last round, however, Flaherty, Tripp, and other Port workers kept organizing, building new relationships, and participating in local solidarity efforts. They also researched the Port’s financial situation and gathered data on comparable jobs at other ports in their region. The organizing, solidarity and research paid off big-time in recent bargaining when they negotiated, and members ratified, an agreement to boost wages 18% over four years. Nearly half of the big increase is being delivered in the first year of the contract. Well done Local 7 – way to organize, unite, and fight to win the long game!
Submitted by IBU Puget Sound Regional Director Peter Hart and IBU Puget Sound Passenger Business Agent Ryan Brazeau