Monday, October 29, 2007

PMA Wants to Eliminate Hoot Shift?

Just saw this in this morning's Breeze. So for those of us who aren't either ILWU or work in the port in other capacities, could someone give some clarity on the role of the Hoot Shift, any kind of perspective on a switch to two 10 hour shifts, etc... The only thing I know is that I have friends who do 10 hour shifts and they love them, since they get more days off, but I don't know how applicable that situation is here.

The PMA PR folks say this is about efficiency, not about the overpayment of folks for what's basically a half-shift, but that's a little (or a lot) too convenient for my taste.

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23 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is obviously the first jab thrown in what will be the next fight between PMA and ILWU over the contract renewal. Of course it's about saving money. Whatever your feelings are about the ILWU the harbor area communities should rally against this because it will increase traffic on our streets during peak hours instead of at pre-dawn hours when most of us are sleeping.

10:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ugh. The article talks about increasing volumes again. How about agitating for cleaner air as part of contract renewals?

I'm sick of subsidizing the cost of goods shipped through our port with our health.

Cough. Hack.

3:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd hardly call it overpayment. The concept of night premiums and graveyard premiums weren't invented by longshoremen. They're pretty standard in a lot of industries, and for a good reason.

Anyway, some companies on the waterfront find hoot shifts profitable and/or desirable, and some don't. They're free to work it or not to work it, and accordingly, if you drive around the twin harbors at that time of the morning on a regular basis, you'll notice that a couple of terminals always seem to have a ship or two working, some never do, and some may or may not be working on any given morning. The reality on the ground, then, doesn't exactly match up with Jim McKenna's spin.

Make no mistake: what PMA wants is to have people still work those hours, but not pay them for the inconvenience and disruption.

3:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Speaking here for the sake of clarity and to make sure that nobody will misunderstand a point very clearly made here....

imbg "They're free to work it or not to work it..."

This preceeding statement is absolutely correct as is the following statement: the Union DOES NOT, CANNOT, compel any terminal to hire anyone for the hoot shift, nor do we have a manning guarantee on any shift.

Given this contractual agreement, the notion of any discussion of eleminating the hoot shift is a misdirection away from the real issues the PMA wants.

Nothing new there from those lying scumbags.

8:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"lying scumbags"
ILWU, the Press or PMA?

12:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If it's not about money then its simple. At $30 for 8 hours a worker is paid $240 a day. If you work 5 hours for the same amount you're making $48 per hour.

If there are 2 shifts and workers are paid $30 for the first 8 hours and time and a half for the remaining 2 hours they'll make $33 dollars an hour - which means that for caving any perspective hoot shift worker will make $15 less per hour.

Solution? If it ain't about money - IF - give everyone a $15 per hour pay raise and try to get workers to compromise and work rotating $10 shifts.

Of course it IS about money or else they would have figured this out long ago.

Einar

12:51 PM  
Blogger Phillip said...

Current pay rates FYI-

1st shift 8hrs = $245.44

2nd shift 8hrs = $327.28

3rd shift 5hrs = $245.45

10:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The hoot shift is run to cover the hours between the night and day shifts and, as noted here elsewhere is each terminals choice, not the union's. The union supplies labor for whatever shift is ordered.

There will be no 10 hour shifts in place of 8 hour shifts in the next contract. That is because such a proposal will never be voted on by the membership in a contract proposal negotiated by the union negotiators.

But all this talk by the PMA about the hoot shift/shift hours changes is nothing but a clumsy attempt to divert the PMA's main focus which is and will always be benefits. The PMA lost on such a huge scale in 2002 and on the next contract they face an entirely different landscape, not the least a powerful Democratic Congress itching to initiate any number of attention-getting investigations.

There wont be any huge CEO bonuses this time around either. And McKenna knows his ass is on the line not to rock the boat like Miniace last time. But Mckenna is obligated to put on some kind of show for his bosses so all this phony pre-posturing is to be expected.

I'm sure the union will help him out in this action he needs and he'll be kept around after the contract is ratified. He is a company man after all, but he is no asshole bigmouth loser like Miniace.

12:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like the circus is in town. :)

10:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not affiliated with this artist in any way, but I just read about her work in the LA Times: http://www.sierragbrown.com/

Basically, she's using her performance piece to demonstrate non-automotive ways to get to Long Beach from San Pedro (partially in protest of the fact you can't ride a bike over the Vincent Thomas Bridge).

I think the work she's doing is awesome. We really should form a movement to get a bike lane on the bridge.

2:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

imbg - you once uttered the phrase "burst, bubble, burst" with regards to the housing market. what do you think of the possible federal bailouts on the slab, designed to keep owners in their homes?

One commenter on the NY Times said:

"As a renter, tech-industry boom-bust-outsourced multi-degreed dual-income family of 4 but no "parent equity," we've been priced out of the hyper-inflated Bay Area housing market for years. I can't tell you how irritating it's been to live among the entitled "home equity" spendthrifts and real estate hype-agents, and now, to read about bailout programs to "rescue" the same so they may keep the over-priced homes they could ill-afford, and all to be funded by my taxes. Unwinding the billions of dollars of hype-equity from the market will be a painful process, and homes and careers built on foundations of hype will disappear. There is no economic justice in "rescuing" these hype-mongers. I presume all renters will also be getting a comparable rebate?

— Renter, Bay Area, California"


What do you think? Penalize the buyers or no?

2:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bike lane on the bridge? Nobody would use it. In case you hadn't noticed, that bridge is steep. It's too bad there aren't enough bike commuters here or in Long Beach to justify a bike ferry.

Biking between Pedro and Long Beach isn't that hard if you're in shape and you don't mind sharing the road with port trucks. It takes about forty minutes to get from downtown SP to downtown LB, skirting Terminal Island, if you ride at a brisk but not breakneck speed.

But speaking of bikes and San Pedro and Long Beach: DESTINO! This Saturday night at 10:00PM! Forty miles, starting in Long Beach, coming through Pedro, making a loop around PV and back to Long Beach! You don't have to speak Spanish! I don't, and I'll be there!

2:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, and as to the housing question: it's not a question of "penalizing" buyers. Either the government steps in and bails out those buyers or it doesn't. If we're honest about it, it must be admitted that many if not most of those buyers were motivated by greed when they took out those loans: they thought that real estate would keep going up forever and they could eventually sell those houses (that they couldn't even remotely afford) at a profit without ever having to pay them off. That has to color the debate over whether to grant these buyers government relief. I'm inclined to agree with the person you quoted, but admittedly I haven't heard a well-articulated argument from the other side yet. Who knows? Maybe I'd be convinced that the bailout is a good thing.

Frankly, I can't think of a single reason why the government should try to keep housing prices from falling back down to where they should be, unless the fall is so precipitous that it threatens to seriously destabilize the economy and cause massive unemployment, a currency collapse, social unrest, etc.

3:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

(*tap tap tap*)

Hello, is this thing on? Has Life On The Edge died a death on the edge?

4:12 PM  
Blogger M Richards said...

Hey imbg,

I think you might be a good candidate to become a contributor to this blog.

You are opinionated and that is a good thing for someone who creates posts for blogs.

We haven't read much from contributors other than Calamari and Banditos Yanquis and you could help this great blog stay in tune with what is happening around town.

This blog is much more diverse than my blogs and you have opinions on a wide range of issues.

If you don't want to try and become a contributor to this blog, perhaps you might want to start an informative blog of your own, if you haven't already.

I would like to see this blog continue, too.

There are many issues causing stirs around town and you could help inform, educate, and entertain us, along with the usual suspects who write for this blog.
MW

3:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah what happened to this blog?

5:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

helllew...

1:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Life on the Edge, have you fallen over the edge? Yeah that was pretty pathetic, but wtf?

10:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gee, what will imbs do with all his free time?

9:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

^^^It's nice to know I still have fans. ^^^^

It would be nice to have some new contributors to keep the blog going, since it seems that the OGs either have lost interest, no longer have the time, or (for whatever reason) no longer feel at liberty to make posts here. I'm not saying that I should necessarily be one of those new bloggers, but it would be cool to see the torch passed along.

3:03 AM  
Blogger M Richards said...

Come on imbg, pick up the torch and run with it.

It's all free and you can create the blog of your dreams to stimulate us and provide all readers with your wit and wisdom.
MW

11:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, it is the holidays- Calamari and BY are probably up to their patoots, as am I. It's a lot easier for me to check in than it is to generate content.I confess I do miss the witty banter. Sigh.

8:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey IMBG:

if you want a spot, send me your e-mail address and it's yours.

11:18 PM  

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