Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2020)
PAGE 2 | February 21, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Senior staff reporter: Don McIntosh Office manager: Jill Lukens Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $15 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of 47 cents an issue per member — $11.28 a year are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 ...ILWU case From Page 1 The case stems from a dispute that began in 2012. ILWU mem- bers employed by ICTSI waged a disciplined and coordinated slowdown at Terminal 6, operat- ing cranes and driving trucks more slowly than usual. That would have been legal, except that the National Labor Rela- tions Board (NLRB) determined that ILWU’s motive was to get ICTSI to put pressure on the Port of Portland to give the union ju- risdiction over two jobs plugging and unplugging refrigerated con- tainers. That made the slowdown a violation of the anti-union 1947 federal law known as Taft- Hartley. Among other things, Taft-Hartley bars unions from taking economic action against one employer in order to target another employer, and it gives employers the right to sue for economic damages if they do. The dispute also put ILWU at odds with others in organized la- bor because the jobs at issue had historically been represented by IBEW Local 48. ICTSI is owned by Phillipine billionaire Enrique Razon, and has been involved in significant disputes with longshore unions in Indonesia and Madagascar. On Feb. 14, ICTSI’s Portland general manager Elvis Ganda watched the proceedings on one side of the courtroom while ILWU President Willie Adams looked on from the other side. ILWU attorney Dan Jackson argued that ICTSI grossly in- flated its estimate of economic damages. He also said ICTSI had not shown that the slow- down was solely motivated by the illegal motive of putting pressure on a third party, as op- posed to other ongoing disputes with ICTSI. Simon could leave the jury award as is, reduce the amount, or order a new trial that would focus just on the damages. After three hours of legal arguments by the two sides, Simon said he would issue a decision within 60 days. Simon didn’t say how he’s likely to rule, but at various points he did say he found some of ILWU’s arguments persua- sive. One expert witness called by ICTSI had cherry-picked data to inflate damage calculations, and his model had assumed that ICTSI could raise prices and still increase volume, in violation of accepted economic theory. But Simon also faulted ILWU attor- neys for not having made that ar- gument more forcefully earlier in the trial. ILWU has said ICTSI is try- ing to get the union to pay for losses that members weren’t re- sponsible for, and reimburse for profits that the company wasn’t likely to make. The Port of Port- land had been losing money at Terminal 6 for years; that’s why the public body privatized the terminal in the first place, sign- ing a 25-year lease agreement with ICTSI. Terminal 6 has sev- eral disadvantages that make it less than competive with other West Coast ports: It’s far upriver from the ocean, and shipping channels in the Columbia River aren’t deep enough for the new generation of bigger more cost- effective cargo ships. No other terminal operator has stepped in since ICTSI ended operations in 2017. If Judge Simon finds that the jury damage award isn’t sup- ported by evidence of real eco- nomic damage, he could reduce the award to $27.6 million: $20 million for equipment ICTSI had to abandon when it ended operations at Terminal 6 and money it owed the Port to termi- nate its lease agreement; plus up to $7.6 million in direct dam- ages due to lost productivity during the slowdown. Low Prices! Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 PLEASE SHOW OUR ADVERTISERS YOU APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS LABOR MOVEMENT NEWSPAPER!
