Unions pushing for tests at docks

Local longshore workers press health agencies to prioritize their members for vaccinations

The local unions representing dockworkers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have continued pushing local and state officials to prioritize their members for vaccinations, as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths among their ranks increase, which could have negative implications for the vast amount of the nation’s cargo they help move.

Specifically, the unions are asking that their memberships become eligible for vaccines at the beginning of Phase 1B, part of the first tier for inoculations that’s classified as “essential workers.”

A letter went out earlier this week to state and county officials requesting that the thousands of dockworkers be moved up in line to assure needed cargo in the supply chain can be handled.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union Locals 13, 63 and 94, all of which signed onto the letter, have seen cases spike recently, as has all of Los Angeles County amid a devastating surge, and eight active members, according to the letter, have died from coronavirus-related causes. That doesn’t include recent retirees.

“We’re not asking to overstep the people who are first responders and those taking care of people in nursing homes,” Frank Ponce De Leon, coast committeeman for the ILWU’s Coast Longshore Division, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “But our workforce could be depleted quickly if this thing spins out of control. We need help.”

The letter went to Gov. Gavin Newsom; Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County’s Public Health director; and Kelly Colopy, director of Health and Human Services in Long Beach.

Officials for the county’s Department of Public Health and Long Beach did not respond to requests for comment.

But California Department of Public Health, in

an email, said that two different groups are working on recommendations about Phase 1B.

“But the allocation decisions,” the email said, “will be difficult as there are limited supplies until late spring/summer.”

The governor will make the final decision on the department’s recommendations.

The ILWU’s Coast Division said Wednesday it had not received specific responses to the letters sent out Monday.

Though there’s not a work shortage currently, Ponce De Leon said, workers are putting in nonstop shifts as the number of positive tests rise.

In December, ILWU members at the Port of Los Angeles saw 65% of its tests come back positive for COVID-19. At the Port of Long Beach, 71% of reported cases came back positive.

“In just the first seven days of January, 54 more

positive cases were confirmed within our ranks,” the local unions’ letter said, calling the situation urgent. “These numbers continue to rise.”

“While we are proud to be essential (workers),” the letter adds, “we refuse to be overlooked as this virus rages on.”

The first people to receive vaccines were those listed as 1A, including health care workers, and employees and residents at skilled nursing facilities and other longterm care homes.

Phase 1B includes those who are unable to work from home, live or work in highly impacted areas, or are most likely to spread the virus to co-workers or the public, including teachers and and child caretakers; emergency services workers; and those in the food, agriculture and grocery industries.

Longshore workers now fall in 1B Tier Two, which

includes workers in transportation and logistics.

“We respectfully request that our members be placed in at least Phase 1B Tier One,” the letter said, “when the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to the Department of Health and Human Services.”

The 15,000 dockworkers are essential, Ponce De Leon said, to keeping goods, including personal protective equipment, moving through the twin ports.

Making the situation more urgent, he said, is the crunch of cargo traffic that has brought congestion to both local ports.

“We need to keep our members safe and healthy,” Ponce De Leon said. “People in general are tired, we’ve been working around the clock, seven days a week. People are sick to see their fellow workers, family members and individuals losing their lives due to this pandemic.”