09/02/2018
Out With Outsourcing: How Clerical Workers Achieved Victory at SoCal Ports
by Craig Merrilees
December 10, 2012
Four hundred and fifty ILWU office clerical workers ended their one-week strike on December 4th after securing new protections against the outsourcing for good jobs that support working families in the Southern California harbor community.
Key issue: outsourcing
The tentative agreement – subject to membership ratification – includes significant new protections that will make it much harder for jobs to be outsourced to Texas, Taiwan and other locations around the globe.
Power of solidarity
The clerical workers, who do everything from billing to complex logistical planning and management tasks, won their struggle against powerful multi-national companies because of solidarity and support from over 10,000 other port workers, including ILWU longshore and other unions, port truckers and harbor-area community members. Unions affiliated with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor sanctioned the strike and provided important support – including plans for a massive mobilization that was cancelled after an agreement was reached.
The strike by members of ILWU Local 63’s Office Clerical Unit (OCU) began Tuesday, November 27, involving about 60 workers. By Thursday, the strike had expanded to cover most terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with about 450 clerical workers staffing picket lines against 12 employers.
Outsourcing scheme
The strike targeted huge carriers and terminal operators and their affiliated companies who have been secretly outsourcing dozens of good-paying ILWU clerical jobs to remote locations here in the U.S. and around the globe. Over 50 jobs have disappeared in the past 3 years, and another 60 were likely to disappear without action to stop it. The companies refused to admit they were outsourcing – and continued to insist throughout the strike that union members wanted “featherbedding.” The strike was triggered by the refusal of companies to address the outsourcing problem during two years of contract talks. The strike quickly forced the companies to reverse course, address the issue and agree on solutions that will help protect jobs from disappearing.
Widespread support
OCU members staffed around-the-clock picket lines at the port terminals. Local residents and business owners showed their support by dropping-off food and coffee to picketers. Other union members secured propane heaters that were delivered to many site. Pop-up shelters were donated to protect against torrential rainstorms that lasted for much of the strike. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor scrambled to plan a large caravan on December 8th to mobilize hundreds of Southland union families in autos, motorcycles and classic cars that were scheduled to meet at Dodger Stadium for a kick-off rally, then drive through the city, and climax at the Port with a giant solidarity rally. The action was cancelled when the settlement was reached.
Message battle in the media
The high-profile struggle immediately gained national media attention from all major print, radio and television news outlets. Rank and file clerical workers were quickly trained to serve as communicators who focused on a disciplined message: “we’re striking to save good jobs for working families in the community – and fighting for everyone in America who’s concerned about outsourcing jobs.”
Lobbyists in Washington
Company-paid media consultants churned out distortions and misinformation, claiming that workers were paid $196,000, and that the strike was damaging the economy to the tune of $1 billion a day. The National Retailers Federation attacked in Washington, D.C. where companies like WalMart and Target lobbied the White House and members of Congress to intervene by having the President declare the strike a national emergency and break it for 80 days with a Taft-Harley injunction.
Politicians choose sides
That effort failed, but the conflict revealed which politicians were willing to stand with workers – and which ones preferred to join the chorus of employers who focused on exaggerated claims of economic harm. U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer issued a joint statement with a sub-headline screaming:“Closures of Ports During Holiday Season Could Hurt the Economy of the Los Angeles Region and Nation.”
In fact, there was little or no impact on the holiday season because most goods had been delivered long ago. But the focus on “harm to the economy of the Los Angeles Region and Nation” was thinly-veiled code designed to threaten union members and encourage the White House to impose a Taft-Harley injunction.
Posts about virtual outsourcing written by Renee: CEO Coach & Management Specialist
