The facts about longshoremen in Connecticut

I am writing to you in response to your article on Jan. 23 headlined “The existence of union dock workers in CT may soon be decided.”

I am not sure of the purpose of this article, but I think your readers are entitled to have a more accurate picture of the developments at the New London State Pier from the International Longshoremen’s Association’s perspective.

The International Longshoremen’s Association represents 65,000 men and woman who load and unload cargo vessels which include bulk, breakbulk, heavy lifts, project cargo and containerized cargo including military cargo. Our core jurisdiction covers ports from Maine to Texas including the Great Lakes region along with Puerto Rico and Canada.

The new initiative of developing renewable energy through offshore wind turbines has grown rapidly from Maine to North Carolina. One of the challenges for our country is providing enough maritime facilities to accommodate the laydown areas for cargo where one unit can be 800 feet tall and weigh 800 tons. Because of the size of these turbines, U.S. ports are a necessary component to facilitate the shipping and assembly of these turbines and the loading of the finished turbines on to installation vessels for transport to the offshore wind areas.

The ILA formed a committee that has been active in each port where the wind projects are expected to be developed. The committee includes two ILA representatives from ILA headquarters and in the New England area two regional ILA and Atlantic Coast district vice presidents.

The committee prioritizes its activities based on the permitting schedules of each respective port. New London, through its public/private partnership which includes the Connecticut Port Authority, Eversource, Orsted, and Gateway of New London, has determined that the State Pier would be modified to handle the heavy and large wind turbines and provide a complete service to the offshore wind projects.

The International Longshoremen’s Association has endorsed this project, and in doing so has met with numerous stakeholders to protect ILA Local 1411’s core work jurisdiction during the construction/ renovation stage of the State Pier. The communications with Gateway of New London have been healthy, ongoing, and because of the effectiveness of the communications, there was a scheduled meeting for Jan. 24 to have Gateway of New London and our regional committee members brief Peter Olsen as to the progress of these developments and prepare him and his board with the needed orientation of such a new and different operation.

I do understand that Peter Olsen and Local 1411 have been saturated with uncertainty as the port transitioned from a breakbulk operation to a new offshore wind service provider, which is new to all of us. However, the ILA believes that once that facility returns to the operational phase, the familysustaining jobs for the ILA and others will multiply.

The ILA believes that the commitment that Gateway of New London and other stakeholders have demonstrated and their willingness to work together with the ILA and particularly Local 1411’s members will result shortly in economic benefit from the

New London State Pier/ Terminals.

We ask that your paper become a contributor to that success.