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Panama ILWU visited by US Longshore Caucus-eNews
April 23, 2016 at 9:32 AM
[email protected]
Apr 22-16, 2016
Panama Canal Pilots Union receives the ILWU on Panamanian
soil
Panama Canal Pilots Union representatives with top ILWU officials at the
Longshore Caucus in Panama City Panama on April 18, 2016.
Panama Canal Pilots Union receives the ILWU on Panamanian soil
From Monday April 18th to Friday the 22nd, a series of meetings between the Union of Panama
Canal Pilots (UPCP) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will be held.
This meeting, which is the first to take place in Panama, aims to reaffirm the existing strategic
alliance between these two unions, which is mainly based on the noble principle of international
solidarity, which has come in handy in the struggles of workers around the world, in this case, in the
maritime port sector.
For Captain Londor Rankin, general secretary of the UPCP, these meetings are fundamental and
important in confronting the major powers and financial interests that are the same that operate both
in Panama and the United States.
"We must defend the interests of our members, including their wages and employment conditions,
as we move forward in the endless struggle to improve them," said Rankin.
Notably, the Coast Longshore Division is, as its name suggests, an autonomous division of the
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Union (ILWU, for its acronym in English), consisting
mainly of stevedores, clerks and foremen; distributed among 30 local unions, the largest being
located in Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Francisco/Oakland, and Seattle.
located in Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Francisco/Oakland, and Seattle.
In June 2012, during the 35th Convention of the ILWU, the affiliation of the Union of Panama Canal
Pilots with this great organization was completed. It was the product of the friendship that developed
between several members of both unions, in the early years of this century, when the ILWU was
subject to a "lockout" at the hand of their employer, while they were engaged in negotiating their new
collective agreement. The entrance of the Canal pilots to the family of the ILWU meant the creation,
within that organization, of the Panama Canal Division. Subsequently, at the Convention of 2015, it
was strengthened with the inclusion of the companions of the Industrial Union of Dockworkers and
Similar of Panama, (SINTRAPORSPA), a union grouping that brings together most workers in the
ports of Balboa and Cristóbal.
Captain Rankin said the fact that the meeting is being held in Panama, just two months from the
opening of the expanded Canal, is a happy coincidence.
"In addition, it serve to reiterate our brotherhood and let our employers know that we are not alone in
our struggles to defend the interests of workers - and we will never give up," said the secretary
general of the UPCP.
Ray Familathe International VP, Mark Gordienko ILWU Canada, Glen Edwards 505 and Eric
Parmar 500 at Mira Flora Locks at the Panama Canal
Our new online map of places associated with the history of working people in BC is now live on our
website! We have identified 143 locations so far. Most include photos and links to further
information.
http://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/workermemorialmap/
Instructions for navigating the map are included on the page. Each location is identified by a
placemark. The map is divided into three "layers", including one that focuses on locations relating to
the April 28 Day of Mourning.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. We hope you enjoy perusing the map! If you
see any errors or omissions, please contact us.
Donna Sacuta, Project Manager
Remembering Working People: Plaques Around the Province
Cell: 604-833-1193
BC Labour Heritage Centre
Stop the closure of the Comox Marine Communication
andTraffic Services Centre (MCTS)
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
A lot of work has been done trying to keep the Comox Marine Communication and Traffic Services
Centre (MCTS) open and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your help and support in
this fight. But the fight isn't over yet and here's something else that you can do to help: phone or
email Liberal MPs. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans is
deciding the fate of the Comox MCTS Centre and a call or email from you, your members, your
family, your friends, or anyone else that supports this fight can make a difference.
After the oil spill in English Bay last year, Prime Minister Trudeau and his BC Liberal candidates
made "a clear commitment to reversing Stephen Harper's dangerous cuts to oil spill response and
marine safety resources on the BC coast" and that a "Liberal Government will re-open a full-service
Coast Guard station in Vancouver and reinvest in marine safety on the BC Coast."
Please click this link to contact these MPs and ask them to keep their promise and to help stop the
closure of the Comox MCTS Centre: http://petition.web.net/unifor/node/61
Please click this link to sign a petition to the Prime Minister to stop the closures:
www.change.org/ComoxStation
Scott Hodge
Vice President Western Region
Unifor Local 2182 - Coast Guard Marine Communications Officers
(250) 702-2804
[email protected]
FIGHT FOR $15 Minimum Wage
The call for fair wages is so important here in BC, where we now have the lowest minimum wage in
Canada. At $10.45 per hour, full-time workers are living nearly $6000 below the poverty line. That's
got to change.
A week ago thousands of people across Canada stood together for a fair minimum wage as part of
our National Day of Action. They collectively called for provincial governments to raise minimum
our National Day of Action. They collectively called for provincial governments to raise minimum
wage to $15/hr. It is amazing to see our movement growing.
And you can help build momentum. Like our Facebook page to be part of calls to action, to hear
about upcoming events, and to learn about wins across North America.
Together we have the power to build an economy that works for everyone.
June 2016: Terminals / Environment issue
Our June issue is shaping up to be one of the highest print runs to date of any issue of BC Shipping News.
Articles confirmed so far:
Industry Insight with Ron Brinkhurst, Tidal Transport
B.C. Terminal Activity update by Ray Dykes
Containership sector update by Syd Heal
Green Technologies by Darryl Anderson
Port of Vancouver Emissions Inventory by Colin Laughlan
Ship Disposal by Jeffrey Smith
Recap: Clear Seas Workshop
Profile: Aqua-Guard Spill Response - an international success story
Tanker Moratorium by Robert Lewis-Manning
An interview with Lloyd's Register new Executive VP and Global Head of Corporate and External Affairs Tom
Boardley
Port Alberni Port Authority - Economic Impact Study release
Plus much more!
Sneak Peek: May 2016
Features:
Industry Insight: Robert Lewis-Manning, President, Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia: Climbing
mountains and bridging gaps.
Tankers: Tanker tidbits by Syd Heal.
LNG: Aussies show the LNG way amid tough markets by Ray Dykes.
International Shipping: Canada offers a competitive, predictable and flexible regime by the Vancouver
International Maritime Centre.
Transportation: Canada Transportation Act Review - Just another review? by Trevor Heaver.
Plus much, much more!
Click here to read the digital version of the May 2016 issue of BC Shipping
News
Western Transportation
Advisory Council
WESTAC is a non-profit society of major transportation organizations in Western Canada
represented by business, labour, and government decision-makers. The ILWU is a founding member
and holds two positions on the Executive Board, one is ILWU Canada President Mark Gordienko
and the other through the ILWU Affiliate in Saskatchewan the Grain Services Union General
Secretary Hugh Wagner.
Click here for the weekly information package we receive from Westac, with links to many
interesting articles that relate to transportation.
News in Review - April 16 to April 22, 2016
Room for improvement in grain transportation, study indicates
Fully Autonomous Vehicles Are Coming
Port adopts new official name
Evergreen Marine forms largest shipping alliance
Salmon or LNG? What's at stake in the Pacific Northwest decision
Government of Canada intends to work with Parliament to extend certain provisions for rail in
the Canada Transportation Act
Editorial: Downsides of CP's derailed merger deal
CP announces leadership moves
Canada might need more than three years to recover from oil slump: BoC
Buyers Market
Disclaimer: These articles are not necessarily the opinions of either WESTAC or the ILWU. They
are a sampling of topical reports on transportation issues only.
BC Federation of Retired Union Members
Click here to read the latest edition of the BC Forum
Advocate.
Waterfront News
Reminder
The Waterfront News is the newsletter produced by ILWU Canada and mailed to
members several times per year. The Dispatcher is the newsletter produced by our
International Union and is also mailed to members several times per year. ILWU Canada keeps an
address database for both of these, but we only receive addresses from the Locals or the Members
directly.
Copies of past editions of the Waterfront News are available here:
Copies of past editions of the Dispatcher are available here:
If you are a Member of the ILWU in Canada, or on the A or B boards in any of the Longshore Locals
you are entitled to receive one or both of these. If you are not receiving it now you should contact
your Local to make sure they have your current address.
You can also send us an e-mail at [email protected] or phone us at 604-254-8141 to update
us.
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