This is a special bulletin for active and
retired members of the ILWU Employer Association Health and Benefit
Plan and the Waterfront Industry Pension Plan (WIPP)
A new members-only website has been
designed with you in mind. The site will serve as your key source for
information on your pension and benefits.
We urge you to visit the site and provide
your thoughts for improvements by clicking on the envelope icon which
appears on most pages.
Posted
May 16
Updated 2012/2013 scholarship
applications forms
are now available
Delegates to the ILWU Canada 2012 Convention approved slight amendments
to the 2012/2013 scholarship application and bulletin documents. Those
changes are reflected in the links below. Detailed scholarship policy
information is available here.
ILWU Canada supports the Maritime
Union of New Zealand in ongoing battle
The
Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) has been locked in an ongoing
battle with
the Ports of Auckland over casualization of workers. In support of
their fight, ILWU Canada Officers, ITF Representative, Peter Lahay and
various Members showed their international solidarity on the docks in
Vancouver as seen in the pictures
here.
For more information
about the struggle in New Zealand, visit the MUNZ
website at www.munz.org.nz.
Also, see related story "Port
contracting out proposal unlawful", printed below.
Posted March 19, 2012
Photos taken of the
choir at the 2012 CLC
Winter School
Click
here to see
the photos.
Posted March 16
Port contracting out
proposal unlawful - union
The Maritime Union says that the Ports of
Auckland decision to dismiss its workforce is unlawful, and workers
will
challenge it.
The Maritime Union has asked the
Employment Court for a ruling on whether Port management dismissing its
workforce, while in negotiations over an employment agreement for those
jobs,
is against the law, MUNZ National President Garry Parsloe said.
The union has today also released its full
response to the company proposal.
“Ports of Auckland gave little
consideration to our response to them on their contracting out
proposal,” said
Garry Parsloe. “We set out in detail all the problems
with their proposal, but they have clearly just been going through the
motions,
and pushing ahead with their plan to take away job security for
workers.”
The union response to the proposed
redundancies was yesterday sent to all Auckland Councillors, and they
needed to
put a stop to the Port management’s actions, Garry Parsloe said.
“The Council needs to intervene to ensure
that this flawed contracting model is not implemented in their name as
the
means to deliver an unrealistic 12% return.”
Garry Parsloe said Ports workers were
inviting the public of Auckland to join them at a rally for secure jobs
and a
sustainable port, at Britomart this Saturday at 4pm.
In their response to the proposed
dismissal, workers argued that:
- The
dismissal proposal is unlawful;
- The
dismissal proposal is undermining of the bargaining for a Collective
Agreement,
and amounts to an unlawful lockout;
- The
decision to split the decision to contract out, from issues surrounding
the
implementation of contracting out is artificial, and has precluded a
proper
consultation;
- The
proposal is impractical;
- The
proposal relies on statistical data to establish a crisis in comparison
to the
Port of Tauranga. No such crisis in fact exists;
- The focus
on the return on capital is not good reason for the dismissal proposal.
Posted March 8
Support BC
Federation of Teachers!
Visit
the BC Teachers' Federation website at bctf.ca to
learn more about job
action and how Bill 22 Support hurts students and attacks teachers'
rights.
Posted
March 8
|
|
Port of Auckland workers absolutely
gutted with contracting out proposal
Ports of Auckland workers are absolutely
gutted that management are pushing ahead with their contracting out
proposal,
and are calling on Aucklanders to join their public rally on March 10
to make
a stand for secure jobs for workers.
Ports
of Auckland will this morning
announce that they are going ahead with a proposal to make 300 workers
redundant and contract out their work.
Workers
are devastated by the move,
Maritime Union National President Garry Parsloe said this morning.
“Port
management wants to take away job
security from 300 ordinary working families.”
“There
is no basis for this proposal.
We’re already providing flexibility and have offered even more in
negotiations
with the Ports.
“This
announcement flies in the face of
public opinion, who have made it clear to us over recent weeks that
they want a
sustainable Ports of Auckland, with secure jobs for its workforce.”
“We
call on Mayor Len Brown to not let
this happen on his watch in his time as leader of this city and owner
of this
Port.
“His
legacy cannot be that he stood by
while these workers were treated in this way.”
Garry
Parsloe said that New Zealanders had
deep concerns about casualisation and the impact this was having on
families.
“We
don’t accept that our jobs should be
casualised. We cannot let Ports of Auckland get away with this
move. This is by no means the end of our campaign for secure work,”
Garry
Parsloe said.
Members
of the public who want to make a
stand for secure jobs and a sustainable port are invited to join Ports
of
Auckland workers with music, food and entertainment at Britomart on
Saturday, March 10
at 4:00 p.m.
For more information contact Maritime
Union of New Zealand National President Garry Parsloe on (021) 326 261
Posted
March 8
Van-Isle
ILWU
Pensioners lunch meetings are back
Bill Duncan tells
us that the
Van-Isle ILWU Pensioners lunch is back and underway every third Tuesday
of the month. Meetings are held at the Eagles Hall (921 - 1st
Avenue in Ladysmith) at 12:00 noon. The luncheon is open to all
members of the ILWU, Pensioners, and their spouses.
Contact Bill
Duncan by email at bilsyl7@shaw.ca
or contact the ILWU office for more information.
Posted
Feb. 10
Unions call on public
to rally against port plans
New
Zealand's national union movement is calling for volunteers to help
build public opposition to the Auckland port company's plan to contract
out waterfront work. Read more here.
Posted Jan. 23
Help protect public services. Sign the
petition!
The Public Service Alliance of
Canada (PSAC) is asking for
your support on their campaign to protect public services. Help out by
signing their online petition to Treasury Board President
Tony Clement.
English: PSAC
petition
- English version
French: PSAC
petition - French version
Posted Oct. 13
ILWU
International president Robert McEllrath detained at EGT protest
On September 7 Longshore Workers were
protesting
on the tracks in Longview, Washington, to prevent trains from entering
the
terminal at EGT, a grain export terminal. The ILWU has been in dispute
with EGT
for the last year.
During the protest, police stormed the
crowd to
make arrests. One of the people detained was ILWU
International president Robert “Big
Bob” McEllrath. He was
subsequently released.
The first picture depicts Big Bob being
taken away. The
other two show the police detaining other protestors.
Click on the pictures below to view a
larger image.
Posted Sept. 12
Ground
breaking agreement ratified
Vancouver
(May 3, 2011) –
A new era of stability and openness
to women working at Canada’s west coast ports will be ushered in by the
new
agreement between the International Longshore Warehouse Union Canada
and the BC
Maritime Employers Association that has received wide support by ILWU
Canada
members.
“Collective bargaining is alive and
working well at Pacific
Gateway ports,” said ILWU Canada President Tom Dufresne.
Details of the agreement are being
released today following
ratification by the ILWU’s membership.
The agreement is based on three main
pillars:
- First, the term
of eight years provides
unprecedented stability and reliability to everyone associated with the
Pacific
Gateway – ILWU members and employers alike.
“The interests of ILWU Canada members and
the employer are
aligned when it comes to having an agreement that delivers reliability
and
predictability in the workplace. This is
a win-win agreement,” Dufresne said.
- Second, the agreement includes a new
program for maternity
and paternity leave – one of the union’s key bargaining demands --
which
involves topping up and extending Employment Insurance benefits.
“Making longshore workplaces more attractive as a place of
employment for women is long overdue. For
the first time, longshore workers will have
the support they need as
they raise their families. We will now
be more competitive with other workplaces that women have been more
likely to
choose because of these kinds of benefits,” said ILWU President Tom
Dufresne.
- Finally, with the eight year term,
the ILWU Canada and the
employer have agreed to a package of wage and benefit increases that
will give
ILWU members financial security that is protected by a cost of living
factor in
the final three years of the agreement.
The agreements includes an average
wage increase of 3.5%
every year of the agreement and a cost of living factor starting in
year 6 that
will protect the purchasing power of ILWU members if inflation exceeds
the
agreed upon wage increase.
“The agreement will deliver the kind
of financial stability
our members need. The employer has also
agreed to pension enhancements, a benefit of great importance to ILWI
members,”
Dufresne said.
Ship and dock foremen in ILWU Local
514 are covered by a
separate agreement which is still under negotiation.
For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592
Read this information in a pdf file
format: Ground
breaking agreement ratified
Previously
posted updates and background information on bargaining are available here.
Updated
May 4
Supreme Court upholds
rights of working people to organize and bargain
On April 29
the Supreme Court of Canada
delivered a long-awaited decision reinforcing the constitutional rights
of working people.
Read the news release here.
Updated
May 2
CIRB ruling favours the
ILWU
For the second time in as many months, the
Canada Industrial
Relations Board has ruled in favour of the ILWU and against the BCMEA.
In rejecting the BCMEA’s latest legal
maneuver, yesterday’s
decision re-affirms the Board’s earlier finding that characterized the
ILWU’s
approach to bargaining as fighting hard to protect the interests of
ILWU
members.
We are proud to fight for the interests of
our members and
we will continue to do so vigorously. Let’s hope this latest
defeat
convinces the BCMEA to return to the bargaining table serious about
getting a
deal.
The CIRB's decision is available as pdf here.
