VANCOUVER, Wash. — Dan Walker, a self-described farm boy, knew little about the Port of Vancouver until one snowy night 37 years ago when he arrived on the docks and began his first shift as a longshoreman, The Columbian reported.
The lifting of bails, loading of grain and unloading of rail cars onto ships has allowed Walker, 57, to send two sons to college and create a comfortable life for his family.
Now Walker’s future and that of 10,500 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on the West Coast is uncertain. Tuesday marked the third day union members walked picket lines.
The union and Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, are scheduled to meet today. A brief meeting Tuesday ended abruptly when union officials left the meeting, upset that shipping representatives arrived with armed guards.
The key roadblock to negotiations is the implementation of computer technology to increase efficiencies. It would be a major change from the way things are done now. The PMA said some ports still utilize chalk to identify and track cargo rather than bar codes.
The union has said it is not opposed to the upgrade but wants it implemented on its terms. The union fears the technology push will cost jobs.
Talks between the two sides have grown acrimonious since the union refused to extend its contract in early September. The contract expired July 1.
A lockout hit the West Coast’s 29 ports Sunday night when PMA officials accused longshoremen of reducing their productivity by more than half. The union denies ordering a work slowdown and said dockworkers are simply abiding by safety guidelines and speed limits.
Dock workers at the Port of Vancouver handle about 400 ship calls a year. So far this year, 316 ships have called. Year-to-date through August, the port has processed 2.8 million tons of outbound cargo and 428,400 tons of inbound cargo.
Ed Quick was among the longshoremen in Vancouver pulled off a grain and auto ship that was being unloaded Sunday when the lockout began. The 60-year-old Quick started working at the port 37 years ago as a part-time worker before being admitted to the union.
Quick has heard the stereotype about longshoremen being uneducated and earning huge salaries. He concedes some are able to earn the $106,833 annual salary that is an average for the West Coast. But he said longshoremen are well-educated and trained, perform a dangerous job to compensate for their high wages and flatly denied anybody in Vancouver is making that much money. He said the average annual income for local longshoremen is closer to $60,000.
“I’m proud to be standing up for what we believe in, but after a couple of weeks you figure it’s going to get bad,” Quick said.