Dockworkers

It is time to end the Port of Baltimore's worldwide reputation for chronic labor problems. That is the only way to revive this port's fortunes and persuade shippers to use Baltimore rather than New York or Norfolk. But it will take the concerted effort of Baltimore's five dockworkers locals to make this happen.Two strikes in one year have destroyed much of the good will and optimism carefully built up by state officials in their international trade ventures. Both strikes were called by clerks chief Richard P. Hughes Jr., who ultimately won back some of the jobs he had conceded to management early in the year.

A raw oyster in one weathered hand and an amber brew in the other, Carl Elliott Thompson watches the crowds strolling the Inner Harbor promenade -- but sees the harbor of his youth.His mind's eye recalls the yellow necklace of banana boats that puttered along the water's edge at Pratt Street, and he remembers a bygone era when the city's wealth dangled from the slings of great ships, and the cargo hook was the longshoreman's badge of honor."I loved my work -- it was all muscle and pride," the 65-year-old retired cargo handler and dock gang leader said from the comfort of a Harborplace restaurant.

WASHINGTON -- A worker takes a boat across a river or a larger body of water, going to or from an on-land job. In a boating accident en route, the worker is injured. Is that employee a longshore worker or dockworker, entitled to special compensation? The Supreme Court gave an implied answer yesterday: maybe yes, maybe no.In a brief order with no explanation, the court refused to clear up a dispute among lower federal courts on the legal status of workers who are hurt or die while commuting over navigable waters.

A nationwide Teamsters strike against 22 trucking companies entered its second day as a dockworkers union asked members to honor truckers' picket lines.Leaders of the International Longshoremen's Association made the request yesterday of its 80,000 members, who load freight from ships along the Great Lakes, the Eastern seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico. The move came at the request of the Teamsters and followed the unraveling of management's united front.Yesterday, management negotiators told 18 of the 23 trucking firms it represents that they were free to sign interim agreements with the Teamsters union.

Developers of a subsidized cargo-handling facility at the Port of Baltimore hope the so-called "Container Freight Station" will provide employment for unionized longshoremen who've lost work in recent years.The facility will use members of the International Longshoremen's Association to load and unload cargo from standardized shipping containers. Their wages will be subsidized by a 30-cent-per-ton cargo assessment charged at all ILA ports.The subsidy is to help reduce the higher costs of using unionized labor and make it competitive with non-union stations operating off-pier.

Leaders of the dockworkers union in the port of Baltimore rejected management's "final" contract offer yesterday, Maurice C. Byan, the head negotiator for waterfront management said yesterday, increasing the possibility of strike when the current local contract expires at midnight Friday.Officials of the International Longshoremen's Association notified him yesterday that they did not intend to submit the offer to their members for a ratification vote, Mr. Byan said. "We're still hoping they'll reconsider our offer," he said.

Talks have broken down between the union representing nearly 15,000 East Coast and Gulf longshoremen and the group representing shippers and port operators, with little more than a week to go before their contract expires. Meeting Tuesday in Newark, N.J., with a federal mediator, the United States Maritime Alliance rejected a proposal by the International Longshoremen's Union to extend the talks until Feb. 1. "The ILA wanted to say 'Happy New Year' with a contract extension to Feb. 1, 2013, but United States Maritime Alliance ... answered with a resounding 'Bah Humbug,'" the union said in a statement.

LIVERPOOL, England -- When Steve Booth became a dockworker 27 years ago, his Transport and General Workers Union was so powerful that its strikes could virtually shut down the nation's business.Now, Booth has lost his job, his marriage and his home during a 17-month labor dispute that has attracted only sporadic headlines in Britain and little national support. And his union can't even deploy a decent daily picket line."It's a struggle," Booth says, as he watches another truck rumble past the bedraggled workers and through the gates.

Dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts will receive their first wage increases in four years -- boosting their hourly pay to $22 by 1994 -- under the terms of a tentative contract agreement reached this week.The agreement also calls for cuts in the size of work crews and clearer definitions of jurisdiction. It opens the possibility of more flexible work schedules -- accommodating such things as midnight ship arrivals and after-hours delivery of cargo to terminals.The agreement, between the International Longshoremen's Association and various employer groups, will not become official in each port until bargainers come to terms on local contract issues and it is ratified in membership votes.

Negotiations were set to resume today for a contract governing longshoremen at the Port of Baltimore, raising hopes that a strike can be averted before tomorrow night's midnight deadline.Port employers, represented by the Steamship Trade Association, and the Baltimore District Council of the International Longshoremen's Association agreed this morning to meet.The two sides have not met formally in negotiations since Tuesday when management issued what it called its "best and final" offer.