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ADD YOUR NAME TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE PORT OF VANCOUVER AND STAND UP FOR WORKERS
The Port of Vancouver is abandoning tugboat workers.
ILWU Local 400 members have been working on tugboats at the Port of Vancouver for decades, some for generations. With their decades of experience, they know these waters better than anyone. But now, the Port of Vancouver is awarding contracts to the operator with the lowest rate—instead of the most experienced.
The Port is a federal Agency and should not be run like a private business. The Port’s actions are creating a downward spiral in the tugboat industry, encouraging lower salaries and inferior benefits. This is leaving hardworking, experienced sailors struggling to put food on table in the most expensive city in Canada. It’s robbing them of the future they deserve.
We’re told the Port is good for Vancouver and Canada, but it’s sinking the futures of our tugboat workers and their families. These workers made the Port into what it is today. We have to fight back. The Port of Vancouver must change the way it awards contracts. All companies bidding to work in the Port of Vancouver must treat their workers fairly and ensure they are working under Local Industry Standards, so every worker can support their families and afford to live in their local community.
CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND
ILWU Local 400 compared its industry standard Seaspan ULC collective agreement against another collective agreement at one of the direct competitors in the Port of Vancouver. This direct competitor was able to aggressively outbid the ILWU Local 400 employer for Tug Basin Contracts awarded by the Port of Vancouver. The result is the report below, showing the direct competitor’s agreement is inferior to ILWU Local 400’s agreement based on nearly all metrics.
COMMUNITIES AFLOAT: CONTEXTS AND CONDITIONS OF TUG WORK AT THE PORT OF VANCOUVER
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 400 is proud to share a study from researcher Benjamin Anderson, officially, in partnership with The Morgan Centre for Labour Research at Simon Fraser University, investigating the contexts and conditions of Tug Work at the Port of Vancouver.
The researcher formulated the contents of this study in conjunction with members of Local 400 and the Morgan Center faculty.
The research is intended to address the social ramifications, changes in working conditions, and outlook for career sustainability brought about by political, economic and contractual changes in the marine industry in BC, and by extension, Canada.
This study highlights the importance of centralized sectoral bargaining in Canada’s West Coast marine industry.
CBC INTERVIEW
President Jason Woods was recently on The Early Edition with Stephen Quinn, speaking on how ILWU tugboat workers are being left out-to-dry.
ADD YOUR NAME TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE PORT OF VANCOUVER AND STAND UP FOR WORKERS