Portland-based EGT is owned by St. Louis-based Bunge North America, Japan-based Itochu Corp. and Korean shipper Pan Ocean STX. Its principal owner, Bunge, reported a $2.5 billion profit for 2010.posted by notyou at 2:06 PM on September 8, 2011 [17 favorites]
In January, EGT sued the Port of Longview in federal court, arguing that the company was not bound by the port’s contract with ILWU local 21 to hire union labor for all longshore work on its 38-acre leased site. EGT attorneys said union labor would increase their annual costs of operating the elevator by $1 million.
In a response filed July 5, Port of Longview attorneys asked a federal judge to order EGT to honor its lease agreement and hire Local 21 labor. During two years of negotiations, EGT tried at least twice to get out of that requirement but ultimately agreed with it, port attorneys argued.
The case isn’t expected to be decided until next year, but the conflict could continue to fester if EGT holds to its plan to hire non-union labor when it opens the terminal this summer or early fall.
Life being perpetually unfair does not excuse vandalism, or any other crime.Rosa Parks, MLK, Gandhi, Jesus, and a few others might disagree with that last bit.
To sum up: a taxpayer-subsidized international conglomerate, which is operating on public property, is suing the public so it can avoid paying the area’s standard wages and undercut its competitors that do. Then, it exacerbated tensions with the local labor community by importing union workers from another jurisdiction to cross the picket lines.posted by hades at 2:15 PM on September 8, 2011 [42 favorites]
Lessor [the Port] warrants that there are no agreements or restrictions affecting the Port, whether Lessor is a party to the same or otherwise, requiring union labor or prevailing wage compliance (a) in connection with the construction of the Lessee Projects or other Improvements on or about the Premises, or (b) except only as expressly set forth on Exhibit G-2 hereto, in connection with the operation of the Ship Dock and the Barge Dock, the handling of cargo at the Facility and the operation of the Facility.Exhibit G-2 is the agreement between the Port and the ILWU, which I have not looked at yet.
EXHIBIT G-2Original source is here: part 1, part 2. Those are attachments 1 and 2 of document 16 in 3:11-cv-05036-RBL, EGT, LLC v. Port of Longview.
LABOR MATTERS
Lessor expressly refers Lessee to the provisions of the Working Agreement between the ILWU Local 21 and the Port, dated 1999-2002, as extended through the date of this Lease, for Longview, Washington.
there are no agreements or restrictions affecting the Port, whether Lessor is a party to the same or otherwise, requiring union labor or prevailing wage compliance [...] except only as expressly set forth on Exhibit G-2 hereto [(the working agreement between ILWU Local 21 and the Port)], in connection with the operation of the Ship Dock and the Barge Dock, the handling of cargo at the Facility and the operation of the Facility.constitutes a requirement that EGT use union labor in the operation of the facility, specifically ILWU Local 21 labor.
The police will do nothing. They said "there's nothing we can do but look into it". They are not on our side what-so-ever. I'm sure EGT is paying them to look the other way. They gave the driver of the SUV a police escort out of the facility and I assume all the way homeHad it been the other way around i.e. if a union truck ran over an EGT executive blocking his entrance, at the same speed, I imagine that this would have been much more of a big deal for the police and the media eh?
the part that makes me 'laugh' is that it's that it's outnumbered about 3-1 by armchair authoritarianism, knee-jerk defenses of capital (!), and tut-tutting over the incivility and entitledness of those villainous union dudesNo it isn't! It's the other way around, at least 4-1 *for* the union, despite the, ehm, dynamic nature of the actions discussed. It might have been 50/50, or 70/30 8-9 years ago in a similar discussion here, but the sea-change in attitudes among the relatively liberal MeFi US average is impressive in recent years (and a good thing) IMHO.
Scott Mason, president of the ILWU Local 23 in Tacoma, said some of his members have joined in the Longview effort, but he doesn't believe they were involved in illegal activity. He blamed the company for provoking the response and warned that more activity could be coming.Weird wording. I *think* he's saying that he doesn't believe his members weren't involved in the illegal activity, not that he doesn't think what the longshoremen did was illegal. But it's hard to say when it's not a direct quote of the guy.
Look, Capitalism, I care about you, I think you can do some great things but, honestly the way you've been acting these last 30 years I'm kinda embarrassed to be seen with you. I don't like you or trust you and also you really need to bathe more and stop talking such and endless streak of total fantasist bullshit. Also you're getting dangerously reckless and you threaten to ruin other people's lives and that's intolerable. And you need to begin to take responsibility for yourself.posted by Skygazer at 10:23 AM on September 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hundreds of port workers stood on railroad tracks today at 4pm, blocking a train carrying grain to a foreign-owned loading facility in Longview, Washington. Workers took action to protest the failure by big grain companies to honor agreements with the local community to provide good jobs in Longview.When the union president participates and the union brags about it on their web site, the union can't disclaim it's backing of illegal action.
“Everyone came to the tracks on their own free will to stand up for justice and protect good jobs in this community, said ILWU President Bob McEllrath, who stood with the volunteers on Wednesday afternoon. “It shouldn’t be a crime to fight for good jobs in America."
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posted by 2bucksplus at 1:13 PM on September 8, 2011 [14 favorites]