For immediate release:Contact: Craig Merrilees
November 5, 2019craig@ilwu.org 510-774-5325
ILWU reiterates its commitment to the Oregon community following yesterday’s jury award
(Portland, Ore.) While yesterday’s $93 million federal jury award against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Local 8 was “shocking,” said International President Willie Adams, “worse was the mischaracterization throughout the trial that the ILWU does not care about the Oregon community or the Port of Portland.” He reiterated the ILWU’s commitment to the community, explaining, “We are part of the community – the men and women of the ILWU literally broke their backs building and helping to make Terminal 6 sustainable for years.”
The ILWU and Local 8 had already conceded they might owe some damages in the case but maintained that ICTSI’s own mismanagement of the container terminal led to its failure. In fact, the ILWU attempted to settle the case, but ICTSI’s goal appeared to be “union-busting on a global scale,” said International President William Adams. “While we respect the process, we disagree with the excessive damages award of $93 million, which supposedly compensated ICTSI for lost profits and some additional costs for a five year period. The award is not supported by the evidence but rather is based on pure speculation and is several multiples of what ICTSI projected it would make during that same time period. We believe the jury’s damages award is inconsistent with the evidence, and we will raise these concerns with the Court, and, if necessary, on appeal.”
ICTSI, a subsidiary of a Philippines-based company, formerly operated the Port of Portland’s container terminal. The lawsuit stems from a labor dispute between ICTSI and the union in 2012 when ICTSI became a signatory to a labor agreement with the ILWU but refused to assign all of the work covered by the collective bargaining agreement to ILWU-represented workers. The labor dispute was quickly decided in ICTSI’s favor by the NLRB and later in federal court, while labor management relations at Terminal 6 worsened for wholly unrelated reasons. Since ICTSI’s departure, the Port of Portland has resumed operating Terminal 6 in partnership with the ILWU, and the ILWU and the Port are working together to bring new business and container services to Terminal 6.
The ILWU was formed by dockworkers in 1934 and represents 40,000 men and women in Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska and Hawaii, on the docks and in other industries.