FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Bulletin #37-17
October 11, 2017
JOB SECURITY FOR ILWU MEMBERS
“New California rules hold that environmentally-friendly cargo handling equipment in ports must not be fully automated or remote controlled if it is to be subsidized.”
– Port Technology, September 20, 2017
Brothers and Sisters:
Since assuming office, I promised to protect and secure the work of the longshore men and women of my local – and that is exactly what I have done. Over the past few months, I met with several elected officials and helped educate them about the important work done by the ILWU. During this time, I additionally worked closely with Assembly Member O’Donnell and Senator Lara on introducing bill language that grows longshore work and protects it against any future threats by the automation industry.
I am proud to announce that, last month, Governor Brown officially signed ILWU’s bill language into law that restricts ports from expanding automation. This is a huge win for the ILWU and I am excited to say that no public funds will go towards automated cargo-handling equipment.
As longshore men and women, we have fought back against the automation industry for years, and I am proud to see Governor Brown sign this bill into law. I want to directly thank all the locals across California, the ILWU Northern and Southern California District Councils, and previous leadership within Local 13 for ensuring this conversation remained on legislators’ radars. We would not have been able to get this done without your help and expertise.
I am excited to see our Union remain strong and look forward to figuring out other ways to grow our membership.
Fraternally,
Mark Mendoza
President
Opeiu#537/ro