[ilbegone]

On the Waterfront: Longshoremen still seeing tough times

By Kristopher Hanson, Staff Writer Press Telegram

01/11/2010

Longshoremen continue struggling to find work as container volumes in Long Beach and Los Angeles remain at levels far below their 2007 peak.

The plight of longshoremen in the nation's largest port complex was the focus of a recent segment on CNN, which followed workers as they waited patiently - and for most, fruitlessly - on a recent morning at the longshore hiring hall in Wilmington.

Said one worker, Shaun Cibel, it's been a meager existence for much of the past year.

"Week by week, living check by check," Cibel said.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13 President George Lujan said the economic recession has been especially hard on West Coast workers, who have been slammed by the deep decline in international trade since 2007.

Volumes are down as much as 25 percent since that time.

"People are losing homes, losing income, marriages have broken up," Lujan said. "I think the biggest challenge facing my members right now is just keeping their pride intact, keeping on with their union ways. This economy has been really, really tough on my members."

Indeed, reports show work for casual longshoremen, who aren't considered full-time members, has virtually disappeared in the past 18 months, throwing thousands out of work or into other jobs.

Most work now goes primarily to Class A and Class B members, who have put in years of work to reach their position.

Still, new data shows the worst may be over.

The National Retail Federation said Monday that nearly 30 consecutive months of decreasing volumes at the nation's major seaports ended in December, when retailers and manufacturers imported more than the comparable period the year before for the first time since mid-2007.

"These numbers are a clear sign that retailers are optimistic about 2010," said NRF Vice President Jonathan Gold. "Retailers are still going to be cautious with their inventories, but we wouldn't see these increases in imports if stores weren't expecting sales to improve. It's been a long time since we've seen year-over-year volume go up, so this is definitely good news."