The West Coast Longshore Contract

...Bridges has known how to adopt tactics to changing situations which, met with rigidity, would have meant the end of the Union as a progressive force...

...Coffee time and relief periods have been cut...

...They claim to know better what is good for the longshoremen than the Union does...

...As for job security, it will be applicable for an ever-shrinking group—and at the expense, as Mr...

...More...

...Mr...

...Small wonder that local after local of the ILWU has reached a point of desperation...

...This share the Union intends to make a continuing part of the contract, not only for the next five years but indefinitely...

...But facts are facts...

...Actually, mechanization and maybe even automation eventually are coming to the waterfront...

...The majority appears to want security and a larger income...

...Fairley that standard canned goods loads which before the contract used to be 2100 pounds are now over 4000 pounds in the Port of San Francisco...

...It was recognized that in order to get the employers to pay a man 8 hours' pay each day he turned to, whether they could find work for him or not, it was necessary to permit men to be shifted from one ship to another, and from ship to dock, and to make other rules changes which, with careful management, would reduce "dead time" to a minimum...

...He chose the latter, and this perhaps helps to explain why the ILWU has persisted as a strong and remarkably united union when other progressive unions have disappeared or are sadly weakened...

...The B men, of course, are "included out" in any case .. Mr...

...It is not enough for Mr...

...Mr...

...Apart from the fact that the modification of the work rules cannot be disassociated from mechanization, there is another point Swados overlooks...

...The solutions embodied in the new agreement are based on the facts of life of the profit system without any comments or endorsements on our part...

...But other maritime unions have succeeded in getting their pension plans liberalized during this period, as Mr...

...This is an important key to his misinterpretations...

...But it protects the vast majority of longshoremen...

...More...

...Speaking before the American Association of Port Authorities at Long Beach, California, on September 28, 1961, Bridges discussed the philosophy back of the Mechanization and Modernization Agreement...

...Attractiveness depended not only on the wage level, but on working conditions, many of them won by the Union in militant on-the-job struggles in the thirties...

...When workers everywhere are being laid off because of automation, it seems a substantial victory that no longshoremen are unemployed and none will be, short of the bottom dropping out of shipping...

...John L. Lewis gained his own kind of job security for UMW members by defining the unemployed miners out of the ranks of the union...

...The Pacific Maritime Association has circularized the gang bosses to remind them that under the new contract they are responsible for enforcing discipline and must discharge men for violation of any of half a dozen listed rules...

...Injuries in this hazardous industry have mushroomed since the new contract...

...It must be a courageous labor man who would challenge Bridges' conclusion on timing...

...This is absolute nonsense...

...How long, however, will they continue to resist fearing that their jobs, too (essentially they are "witnesses"), will be eliminated...

...In his nostalgia for the good old days ("When you climb aboard the Hawaiian Citizen you are no longer entering the swaying world of the seafaring man" and no one will be "getting a personal kick out of the cargo that he pats after he stows it properly in the hold"), Swados overlooks the fact that the men find the new machines to be labor-saving in a sense that is meaningful to them...

...but since I am under no such compulsion I shall hold to my view...

...It was precisely because such rules were losing their protective value that the Union made the policy decision to modify the rules in return for new forms of protection and security for the men...

...Thus behind every part of the collective bargaining agreement is the persistent problem of where you draw the line, how you determine the balance between the work force and the owners...

...Fairley concedes, of the B men...

...They no longer provided the security they once had because the work situation to which they had been tailored had disappeared...

...On an uneven deck, or one which has been dunnaged off, or one which lists the wrong way, the job of pushing it on an eight foot high, four foot square four-wheeler is exhausting...

...That many of these conditions are disappearing is incontrovertible...

...What other union has won a "share of the machine" or has been successful in persuading their employers that the men have a right to a direct share in the benefits of rising productivity...

...We anticipate that the type of criticism of the Mechanization Agreement which Swados ran into on the waterfront will similarly evaporate as the benefits become felt and understood...

...He overlooks the fact that the working rules whose modification (they have not been given up...

...Swados' view stems in large measure, as I read his article, from nostalgia over the passing of those conditions on the West Coast waterfront which made the work so attractive that, as he points out, nearly 10,000 men (not 14,000 as he says) recently applied for some 600 jobs on the San Francisco docks...

...he is also honored by the San Francisco press as a grand old man in the making, and by the affiliates of the Pacific Maritime Association for reasons of their own...

...Such are the realities of labor leadership today...

...It would seem, therefore, that despite Mr...

...Another area of Swados' concern is with the "dissidents" among the Union longshoremen, men "who because they are Socialists or Trotskyists or ex-Wobblies or ex-Stalinists, persist in operating as though the principles of solidarity and brotherhood were antecedent to self-aggrandizement, the accumulation of power, or the captivating glare of publicity...

...Now the exception is becoming the rule...

...is a gross distortion of intent and result...

...In view of the fact that there was a decrease in injuries on the East Coast and the Gulf maybe the new program of big loads and "hurry up" has something to do with it...

...The guaranteed weekly wage, supposedly a concomitant of job security, is an object of derision for many, who never expect to collect it...

...To oppose it is as useless as it was to fight to preserve the glorious days of sail against the inroads of the dirty rusty tramps, though the nostalgia is just as real and just as futile...

...Fairley this is a "substantial victory...

...whose] prospects in ILWU are dim indeed...

...Fairley that I describe Harry Bridges as one who has "in the past given great leadership" to workers (a description one could in justice apply to but a tiny handful of American labor leaders...

...Far from romanticizing the past or opposing progress, the article indicated that mechanization and automation were coming to the waterfront, but that— unlike such industries as coal and chemicals—their complete adoption would probably take another generation...

...Fairley slurs over, as I did not, the fact that it is computed on an annual rather than a weekly basis: the longshoreman who earns but $50 a week, say, for three months, and then earns enough in the rest of the year to bring his income up to $5200 minimum, will collect nothing...

...Unit loads have for years been exceptions to the load limit...

...This contract change was adopted in referendum vote by the narrowest possible margin...

...For Mr...

...Much of the backbreaking labor is disappearing, no matter what the Union does about work rules...

...Anyone familiar with the West Coast longshore bargaining could tell Swados that when it comes to knowing the best time to move, Bridges is second to none...

...In one lumber port where men had steadfastly opposed the "Aberdeen dolly," after some experience with its use they were loath to accept a job where all the stowing was by hand...

...But this is not the basic answer to Swados' genuine concern...

...Nothing is more infuriating, particularly when the friend is as generally knowledgeable as Harvey Swados...

...What would best protect the longshoreman in the interim...

...And to the extent labor takes a share of the savings or benefits resulting from new methods the profits of the owners are reduced...

...Whether Swados or anyone else likes it, their needs—as they see them—can't be kissed off...

...More...

...There's nothing new in this of course, but it is more sharply presented to the parties when they negotiate over the issues of technological change...

...Fairley's indignation at my characterization of Harry Bridges is of a similar order...

...There is nothing of the sinister or sell-out about such activity...

...To find out, I spoke not only to Mr...

...He could not have remained head of a united and democratic organization without the ability to keep in close touch with the wishes and needs of the rank and file...

...The "B" men, as they become "A" men, and this applies to the "dedicated" but now "disillusioned" militants as well as to others, will find the protections afforded through the Mechanization Fund to be of great personal value...

...Was such opposition based on the "principles of solidarity and brotherhood" or was it based on a clinging to the old ways of doing things—the "militant" approach which is not the approach the majority of the membership wants...

...Swados says that the Agreement is not in any important degree a "mechanization" agreement...

...What it does for the younger men is to increase their work opportunity and to open up skilled jobs vacated by the older men...

...He said: "Probably the points of view of the parties differ as to the 'whys and wherefores' of these facts but they still remain the common framework within which an agreement was reached...

...it has become of decreasing value as unit loads originating with the shipper have replaced the traditional loads built on the dock...

...Among them, and these are the ones he feels for most strongly, are "dedicated militants" from other unions who thought the ILWU offered a haven but who have suffered a "terrible disillusionment...

...Fairley's comment would appear to proceed from the odd assumption that automation in his industry is already an established fact...

...But assuming that this was not intended, what can be said about the role of "these idealists...

...It is distressing that Lincoln Fairley, who is universally respected as one of the best labor research men in the field, should feel compelled to read gross distortion, nostalgia, malice, invidiousness, etc., into an account which, given my explicit biases, was as objective as I could possibly make it...

...If some of the young men haven't seen it that way, they will now that retirements are beginning and their prospects for becoming regular longshoremen are becoming more immediate...

...but in the nature of the situation—with A men only temporarily taking on hold work, B men afraid of "black marks," and casual workers unaware of the problem—the workers tend more and more to tackle these larger loads unaided...

...Fairley and his colleagues, but also to the men on the docks...

...Since it is this "hook cycle" which gives longshoremen their periodic rest (long recognized by all parties), intervals of rest are cut down as loads are increased...

...and he gets the same full medical coverage for himself and his family after retirement as before...

...I am saying that if the choice is between their interests and those of the great majority of men, the decision has to be made as it was, even though it is a hard one to make...

...Quite apart from the modifications in the rules, we have thus won a tangible portion of the benefits of increased productivity due to mechanization...

...It is a subjective conclusion, supported by no evidence and denied by a life-time of successful union leadership...

...These Union-imposed conditions, which gave respite to the back-breaking labor, established an unusual amount of Union control over the place and content of the work and permitted a unique degree of social contact among the men...

...The decision to push for the new agreements in 1960 rather than in 1962 was for precisely the reasons given...

...The West Coast longshoremen had a 16% increase in injuries in 1961, compared to 1960...

...We do not object to anyone's finding fault with the Plan, but we do object to stressing the faults without mentioning the virtues, particularly when they are important and unique...

...We try to operate from them...

...It not only overlooks crucial elements in the plan's origin, it frankly ignores the impact of changing methods in the maritime industry...

...Fairley is saying, if I interpret correctly his remarks that longshoremen are "no longer easily moved to participate in job actions and other 'militant' forms of union activity," is that the membership of the ILWU is more tired and more middle-class than the leadership, which made the brilliant best of a bad situation and brought forth a contract that is a "substantial victory," if only the membership can be persuaded to see it that way...

...But then to speak, as Mr...

...That the disappearance is related to the new Mechanization and Modernization Agreement is also true to a significant degree...

...Another strand in Swados' concern involves the men on the "B" list whose opportunity to become full-fledged Union longshoremen has at least been postponed because of reduced work opportunity...

...The rank and file members with whom I have been in touch do not see it quite that way...

...The magic wand of automation has not yet lifted these from ship to shore or vice versa without men straining and pushing...

...To the best of my information, men are working harder now than they did before, despite the ILWU leadership's previous assurances to the rank and file and Mr...

...The choice was between fighting a rear-guard action to preserve as many jobs as possible by all the devices of featherbedding and making-work on the one hand, and accepting the new order on the other, and trying to derive some positive gain from it...

...only to realize that under the terms of the new contract they are as much at the mercy of the powerful International as have been the rebellious San Pedro members...

...I am not saying that the minority, and particularly the scattered "militants" within it, are not deserving of concern...

...It is difficult to overlook the apparent intent to accuse the Union's leadership of self-aggrandizement and the other vices mentioned...

...4) Although the new methods are labor-saving, they do not eliminate labor completely...

...if he does not retire until age 65 he receives $7,920 from the Fund...

...After all, it is only the B men (once again...

...In stating that we in the ILWU recognize these as facts, I don't want any of you here to draw the conclusion that we are among the great cheer leaders for the free enterprise, profit system...

...A similar exchange was made two years ago when the Union won an 8hour guarantee in return for substantial rules changes designed to increase flexibility of operation...

...I, for one, am not...

...Fairley's insistence that there was no "satisfactory alternative" to the new contract, there was indeed such an alternative: the principle embodied in the old 1959 contract, of taxing the employer only in those instances where new machinery was introduced...

...Small wonder too that demoralization has spread through the ranks since the new contract, and that the worst elements have been encouraged to move in on the membership: job selling, mentioned in passing in my article as a "minor sore," grew to the point where the International caught men selling B men's jobs for from three to five dollars a day...

...Everybody is in a tizzy trying to figure out how this all cameabout...

...It is understandable, if regrettable, that he should feel he "must object" to a judgment that was balanced and temperate...

...More...

...In one aspect the pension plan has been improved since the contract, it is true: the scale has gone up from $100 to $115 a month...

...I am afraid that Mr...

...Actually, benefits are just beginning to be paid because the Internal Revenue Service held up tax approval for almost a year...

...Actually, it was the conviction of both the Union leadership and of the employer spokesmen that 1960 was the correct time to move on this issue...

...The former method would have preserved some jobs for `B" men, but at the cost of serious risk to the Union if it forced a showdown with the employers...

...Fairley's defense of the new contract is based on such laudable objectives as its helping men to retire early, creating job security with no layoffs, and providing a guaranteed weekly wage...

...who will suffer, since it is they who are now doing more than 50% of all the hold work...

...One must insist on the simple truth instead that most waterfront jobs are still man-handle jobs...

...more disinterested observers would be more inclined to view it as a semantic victory...

...One may wonder, perhaps somewhat cynically, whether so many men would have applied for the "B" jobs if longshoring were not universally looked upon as the best job for a workingman on the West Coast...

...Harry Bridges is still honored by a substantial proportion of the membership of his own union...

...he is guaranteed approximately $100 a week even if work opportunity falls...

...In the event that he has not, I can assure him that it is as difficult to find a longshoreman who admits to having voted for the "mechanization" contract as it is to find a German who voted for Hitler...

...This used to be known as speed-up...

...Yet today, were another vote held, it would be practically unanimous...

...We are inclined to believe that their disillusionment will melt away as soon as they become "A" men...

...It could more appropriately be called a young man's agreement...

...We think the other side does also...

...Sure than to those of a working longshoreman...

...2) Shippers of goods and cargoes move and distribute goods for the same purpose...

...Fairley's assurances to the readers of DISSENT...

...The only real answer is that no one, including the "dissident" leftists whom Swados writes about, had any satisfactory alternative to offer...

...would it not be irresponsible for the conscientious chronicler to blink them...

...There is less physical exertion in handling the cargo...

...they have been changed) he deplores have for years been steadily losing their protective value because new equipment and new methods have been making them largely obsolescent...

...Instead, we have tried to accept the inevitable and to benefit by it...

...Here is Local 10's Longshore Bulletin, February 8, 1962: BIG INCREASE IN INJURIES...

...But to characterize the Agreement as "a $29,000,000 bribe (on the part of the employers) to buy back certain working conditions...

...It is a misreading of the Agreement to say it is an old man's agreement and that Harry Bridges is paying off his debt to the old-timers...

...In this instance, however, it is clear he is looking at the West Coast longshore situation with a jaundiced eye and without benefit of all the facts...

...Fairley does, of the ILWU persisting as a "strong and remarkably united union" would seem a contradiction that can serve the ends of mythmaking but not of a clear understanding of current reality...

...As understood by the parties to the Agreement, only $2 million per year (of the $5 million per year total) is in return for the rules modifications...

...In conclusion, I must object to the invidious and gratuitous personal attacks on Bridges...

...Fairley knows in more detail than I. And in order to get this contract, ILWU members gave up both a wage increase and pension liberalization...

...The men have learned by two years' experience that the certainty of a full day's pay is worth far more than the old rules which, when adopted, were intended to prevent discrimination and to protect the job, but which now, with the guarantee, no longer serve any useful purpose...

...The sweat which Harry Bridges promised would be eliminated by the new contract has come back—with interest...

...As you increase the load size, you decrease the number of loads...

...What one misses most in his critique is any summary of the benefits which the longshoremen derive from the Mechanization and Modernization Plan...

...The path we followed, adopted only after three years of discussion within the Union and by referendum vote, has hurt the `B" men...

...The other $3 million represents what the Union calls the men's "share of the machine...

...Surely it is enough if he describes a going situation to the best of his ability, including its history and implications...

...No one would know from reading the Swados article that a registered longshoreman, a member of the Union, now has the most complete job protection of any worker in America, particularly against the displacing effects of "automation": He cannot be laid off, and practically no one is ever fired...

...The older men cannot be described as ecstatic over the fact that when they leave the industry early, they do so on money that could be theirs in addition to pension money, if they waited until age 65...

...The increase for the San FranciscoBay Area is 20...

...Should Bridges lead a "militant" and "dedicated" minority in a hopeless battle, or should he stay in the leadership of a majority which, like workers in other industries, is no longer easily moved to participate in job actions and other "militant" forms of union activity...

...I am asked as well to participate in the propagation of fairy tales...

...To be sure, the leadership tells the men in such circumstances to call for machines or for "pushers...

...Why...

...The allegation that Harry Bridges "has more in common, intellectually and temperamentally with Paul St...

...Of late he has been, as he himself described to me with characteristic gusto, an active participant, along with the young ad men and junior execs of Montgomery Street, in a Great Books Club, which meets at the members' homes for purposes of mutual intellectual improvement...

...neither however is it unjust to characterize it as being closer to the propensities of a Paul St...

...3) The various kinds of new equipment appearing in the industry—machinery, containers, etc.—are a capital investment for the purpose of reducing labor costs and speeding up the loading and discharge of ships thereby increasing profits...

...What Mr...

...it was not to out-do the Meanys and Reuthers in respectability...

...One would not know from Mr...

...At one point Swados chooses to interpret Bridges' adoption of the new program as an attempt to challenge the "Meanys and Reuthers" on their chosen ground of "respectability...

...However, it is hardly the function of the reporter to propose, from his privileged sanctuary, alternative solutions to vexing problems...

...Here they are as I and the union see them: "(1) The companies with whom we bargain own and operate the ships, docks, terminals and equipment to make money, in short for profits...

...Almost to a man they opposed the 8-hour guarantee in 1959 and the Mechanization Agreement in 1960, primarily because they saw these proposals as reducing their work opportunities...

...What it does for the old-timers is to retire them early, even by compulsion if necessary, in order to maintain work opportunity for the younger men...

...Thus far the walking bosses have refused to cooperate, asserting that they are not finks...

...Sure than he does with his own rank and file" scarcely deserves comment...

...The slingload limit, for example, which he discusses, was designed as a protection against speedup...

...he can retire as early as 62 with a monthly income of $220...