10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Port: Animosity between private shippers, longshoremen
Continued from Page 1A
Representatives from the
union and Astoria Forest Prod-
ucts were mum on the dis-
agreements when contacted by
phone.
“I don’t know that I want
to deal with this issue in the
paper,” said Chris Connaway,
president of the union’s local
chapter. “This is an internal
issue.”
Dave Daggett, the gen-
eral manager for Astoria For-
est Products, said he couldn’t
make any comments either
way, but added, “I think every-
body in the community knows
what Longshore in ports
mean.”
Clear jurisdiction,
unclear contract
The animosity between pri-
vate shippers and longshore-
men is well-chronicled, most
recently by the nine-month
standoff between the union
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ciation that backed up trade
along the entire West Coast.
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West Coast is governed by
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“I had to get an attorney
who specialized on ILWU con-
tract negotiations to give me a
clear understanding of who is
right in this case,” Knight said,
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the union has jurisdiction over
Crews unload a log truck at Pier 1.
oceangoing cargo moving
between the piers.
What’s not clear is the
contract the Port signed with
Westerlund Log Handlers in
2010, when the agency re-en-
tered the log export market.
Knight said the origi-
nal contract, which the Port
Commission voted to trans-
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and its subsidiary Astoria For-
est Products nearly two years
ago, doesn’t contain language
obligating the company to use
ghost riders.
But Westerlund used the
union longshoremen in the
past, he said, setting a prece-
dent that favors longshoremen.
Knight is also worried
about how once issues with
the longshoreman and Asto-
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the company stopped working
with the Port on a stormwater
collection system the agency is
planning for the entire central
waterfront. With the company
not wanting to work with long-
shoremen or help on stormwa-
ter treatment, he said, “that’s
not comporting with their
long-term goal of developing
Pier 3.”
Buy the trucks?
Developing Pier 3 into a
dedicated operation for pro-
But the goal of developing
Pier 3 remains expensive and
far-off. During Westerlund’s
time at the Port, the company
used a log yard in Lewis and
Clark and drove logs directly
to Pier 1 for export, eliminat-
ing the need for ghost riders.
Westerlund also had a separate
trucking company.
When Astoria Forest Prod-
ucts took over, it moved stor-
age and processing to property
it leases on Pier 3, creating the
need for ghost riders to move
oceangoing cargo across Port
property. Hunsinger said either
the Port or Astoria Forest Prod-
ucts should buy or lease a few
log trucks and have longshore-
men drive them.
Knight also said the Port
or company buying the trucks
could be an answer, albeit one
that should have been found
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tract with Westerlund. He said
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
the Port is also looking into
whether so-called “yard hus-
tlers” — an abbreviated version
cessing and exporting logs has of a truck used for moving cargo
long been the goal for Wester- around docks — would be legal
lund and Astoria Forest Prod- to drive down streets.
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ucts since it took over.
“I think it would resolve the were the operator,” Knight said
issue in a heartbeat,” said Port of his former employer. “We
Commissioner Bill Hunsinger, made it clear the p ort would pro-
who was a longshoremen for vide equipment to move cargo
43 years, drove log trucks and and hire labor to move the cargo,
is close enough to Astoria For- so the tenant knew that. Astoria
est Products owner Dennis didn’t do any of that, they said,
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July 4: Close to 100,000 visited for holiday last year
Continued from Page 1A
“We want the people to come down here, respect what’s
here and build a tradition and keep on coming back,” said
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Fourth of July 2015
Nearly 100,000 people visited the peninsula during the
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Transportation estimates.
Even if the crowds are smaller in 2016, that won’t be
enough to do away with the problems that presented them-
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camping, thousands of pounds of litter and raucous behavior
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“The same issues are there every year, it (was) just exac-
erbated last year by how many more people there were, but
the same things happen,” she said.
Communication is key
For the time being, one of the group’s most important
goals is communication to potential visitors. Those efforts
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“When visitors come here, they don’t think of us as
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beach and so if they’re hearing one thing here and another
thing here, they get confused and they tend not to do any-
thing,” said Bonnie Lou Cozby, one of the group’s leaders.
The group is partnering with personnel within Washing-
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EO Media Group/File Photo
the word to visitors , Cozby said.
“That’s a huge investment on their part just right there, to A young woman watches fireworks from the top of a vehicle at dusk. Typically, safety conditions deteriorate after dark-
ness falls and levels of inebriation rise.
help get signage and posters out,” she said.
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its residents — the group is reaching into media markets in
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won’t be allowed on the peninsula during the holiday week-
end, said group member Vicki Vanneman.
“We need to change the expectations and let people know
that the existing regulations are going to be enforced, but do
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Fireworks planning
The group’s long-term goals including trimming down
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Cozby said.
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Part of the group’s efforts have gone to examining what
other communities in the state have done , she said.
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a gradual process, Vanneman said.
“We would ease into this, we would try it on for size
and it would strictly be a proposal from our standpoint that
would be presented to the county commissioners for their
consideration,” she said.
Visitors an residents
from all age groups
regard Fourth of July
on the Long Beach
Peninsula as a fun time.
After last year’s partic-
ularly chaotic nighttime
revelry, locals began
looking for better ways
to ensure safety.
EO Media Group
File Photo
Bob Duke/For EO Media Group
An aerial photo looking north from the city of Long Beach, Wash. shows a long encampment stretching into the far distance during 2015 Independence Day celebrations. Local
organizers hope to instill a culture of better awareness and compliance with fireworks and camping laws.