Longshoremen stage wildcat walkouts in Philly, NY By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOT The decision by the Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. to switch the terminal at which it offloads fresh fruits and vegetables in southern New Jersey sparked a labor action that spread from Philadelphia-area ports all the way to New York harbor. At issue was the shift as of October 1 by Del Monte of 75 ships and 500,000 tons of cargo per year from the public Broadway Terminal in Camden, N.J., owned and operated by the South Jersey Port Corporation, to the private Gloucester Terminals in Gloucester City, owned by Holt Logistics. Holt Logistics is a major owner and operator of terminals and Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides of the Delaware River. Del Monte’s lease in Camden runs through 2019. Local representatives of the International Brotherhood of Longshoremen decried Del Monte’s move saying it was motivated by lower labor costs at the Holt terminal. The South Jersey Port Corporation and the ILA local offered concessions to Del Monte to avert its action. Holt denies that labor costs played a role in the Del Monte decision. The Holt employees are unionized but are not members of the ILA. Del Monte did not return calls from the AJOT. Labor actions by ILA members were reported in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey in the wake of the Del Monte announcement, later spreading to New York-area terminals when Philadelphia longshoremen set up picket lines at several locations and local port workers refused to cross them. Picketing by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association forced work stoppages at four ocean terminals in Port Elizabeth, Newark, and Bayonne in New Jersey and on Staten Island in New York. Longshoremen also shut down the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia and refused to unload Del Monte cargo in Camden. The New York action idled 12 ships and cost carriers $50,000 per ship per day, according to the New York Shipping Association. “These actions by the ILA, in refusing to cross a non-bona-fide line, are a violation of the no-strike clause of our collective bargaining agreement,” said Joseph Curto, president of the New York Shipping Association. A federal judge agreed and issued an order restraining the ILA from interfering with the normal business operations of the members of the New York Shipping Association, and from honoring the picket lines established by longshore workers from Philadelphia. The court order brought the New York longshoremen back to work after a two-day walkout. ILA Local 1291, which represents the Camden dock workers blames Del Monte for walking out of its lease in Camden and opting for the presumably lower labor costs of Gloucester City despite the labor and lease concessions made to the company. “The members of the International Longshoremen’s Association have serviced Del Monte Fresh Produce at Pier 5 in Camden for the past 22 years,” said Local 1291’s business manager Boise Butler. “We have performed our duties professionally, efficiently, and with respect to Del Monte’s economic concerns. We have never heard any complaints about our service or economics from this company.” Butler claimed ILA members were working at the same wage rate for 19 years ago and enjoy only meager pension benefits. Nonetheless, he said, the ILA was willing to make concessions when Del Monte demanded that the union reduce labor costs. “On July 22, Del Monte’s officers demanded $5 million in labor cost reductions and $25 million in infrastructure improvements from the State of New Jersey,” said Butler. “Based on the threat of losing 200 jobs, and the tax revenue generated by these jobs, we agreed to reduce our wages, in some cases by 25 percent, cut manning, and possibly eliminate some benefits. We met Del Monte’s demands to reduce labor cost by $5 million.” The state offered a lease modification package, and also offered to extend Del Monte’s lease. Butler claimed that the ILA jobs in Camden will be replaced with “working po