Legislative Update |
ILA Legislative and Regulatory Agenda
110th Congress
The International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (ILA) Legislative and Government Affairs office monitors and lobbies the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and state assemblies for issues that impact ILA members and their families. As the voice of America’s largest dockworker union, our mission is to promote the union’s legislative and regulatory positions and to provide our nation’s law and policy makers with information that assists them in developing sound public policy.
Listed below are legislative and regulatory issues that have been identified as priority concerns for the ILA.
Background Record Checks: The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 mandates implementation of a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, which requires port workers to undergo a background record check. Background checks and threat assessments, however, must be based on reasonable and fair standards that focus on terrorist security threats. Regulatory standards must not unfairly jeopardize an individual’s ability to work at our nation’s seaports as well as include due process protections, waiver and appeal rights, to ensure that individuals are not unfairly denied a TWIC.
( Final Rule Implementing phase one of the TWIC program, including application process, disqualifying offenses, waivers and appeals is available on TSA’s website at www.tsa.gov/twic)
Federal TWIC Preemption: Some states have implemented additional port worker access restrictions above and beyond Federal standards. Allowing states to impose different security requirements forces workers to go through additional review processes and costs, which runs counter to the government’s expressed intent to create a single universal TWIC standard. Federal TWIC standards must preempt state and local port requirements.
Port Worker Security Training: Little or no information has been given to America’s dock workers explaining what to do or how to protect themselves in the event of a terrorist threat or attack. The ILA calls upon the Department of Homeland Security to develop standards for a meaningful worker security training program that includes evacuation procedures, live drills and exercises, and compels terminal operators to establish a strategy and timeline for conducting training as an element of facility security plans.
Port Security Funding: The Safe Port Act of 2006 includes an authorization of $400 million for port security grants. Port security grants are awarded on a risk-based analysis and are utilized by port interests to upgrade and enhance their security systems. The $400 million authorization for President Bush’s FY 2008 budget proposal doubles the amount awarded by the Department of Homeland Security last year and is vital to achieve greater protection for our ports and members, the frontline workers at America’s ports. The ILA urges the administration and Congress to seek full funding of this authorization.
Codification of Disqualifying Offenses: The ILA opposes efforts to codify the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) proposed list of offenses barring workers from obtaining a TWIC. TSA’s proposed list includes a broad and vague list of offenses that exceed the intent specified by Congress in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Unless tangible evidence exists, past offenses alone must not presume or label an individual as a terrorist threat.
Empty Containers: Tens of thousands of unsealed empty containers move through our ports and marine terminals each year. However, there currently are no mandated security requirements in place to verify that these containers are actually empty and do not contain dangerous or illegal substances. The ILA calls on Congress to adopt legislation mandating visual inspection of unsealed empty containers as they enter and leave U.S. port facilities.
9/11 Commission Recommendations: The ILA supports the 9/11 Commission Recommendations, which include a call for foreign-based screening of all containers destined to the U.S. Cargo volume at U.S. ports is projected to double over the next decade. With more containers destined to our ports greater opportunity grows for terrorists to smuggle chemical, biological and radiological weapons into the U.S., threatening not only our members’ jobs but their lives as well. It is imperative that the integrity and content of all containers are verified before they are allowed to enter U.S. ports.
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA): WRDA, typically adopted biannually, authorizes federal spending for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ federal navigation projects, including maintenance and construction. Many U.S. ports face capacity and other navigational challenges brought on by the demands of larger, new generational vessels that require deeper drafts. Congress last passed a WRDA bill in 2000. Unless Congress enacts a WRDA bill, the cost of new projects designed to meet existing and future challenges will continue to escalate and leave many ports unable to effectively compete for cargo. The ILA calls on Congress to adopt a new WRDA bill in the 110 th Congress.
Port Development and Maintenance: Our nations’ seaports are a vital cog in America’s economic engine. They serve as local, regional, national and international cargo destination hubs for our domestic and international trade and generate billions of federal, state and local tax dollars. They are also directly and indirectly responsible for creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. The ILA calls on the administration and Congress to fully fund and equitably allocate Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) funds for the maintenance and development of these critical maritime structures.
Short Sea Shipping: The ILA supports Short Sea Shipping, a Department of Transportation initiative designed to develop a coast wise shipping system that will aid in the reduction of freight congestion on America’s overburdened landside transportation infrastructure system. U.S. waterborne trade is projected to exceed 2 billion tons over the next 20 years. Existing land-based transportation systems, rail and highway, are operating at full capacity. Expanding land-based systems is enormously expensive and difficult to fund. Short Sea Shipping provides a cost-effective alternative that is capable of complementing existing transportation modes while offering new work opportunities in the maritime industry.
Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT): Ballast water discharge from ocean going vessels is a major pathway for the introduction of nonindigenous and invasive marine species. Great Lakes states are developing and implementing overlapping or conflicting federal and state programs for ballast water discharge in their state waters. The ILA calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a single federal standard that will govern all ballast water discharges in the U.S. Great Lakes system.
Roadability: Each day tens of thousands of intermodal chassis carrying freight are hauled by trucks to their final destination. Unfortunately, the equipment is often in poor condition and unsafe, presenting a danger to the motoring public on our nation’s roads and highways. The ILA calls on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue regulations that enforce Federal safety standards and require chassis providers to implement verifiable systematic maintenance repair and inspection programs.
( Notice of Public Rule Making issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.apo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-21380.pdf)
Occupational Safety and Health: Federal law mandates deployment of radiological detection systems at U.S. port facilities. The ILA strongly encourages the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to work closely with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and National Academy of Sciences in developing health and safety protocols that protect our members and other port workers from illness and injury related to radiation exposure.
Retirement Security: With Social Security and traditional pension plans increasingly coming under attack, the ILA calls upon Congress to safeguard these benefits, which America’s working families have come to rely on in their golden years. Instead of gutting the Social Security safety net and allowing corporations to jettison their negotiated obligations through bankruptcy reorganization, the ILA calls on Congress to strengthen the laws that protect senior retirees from poverty after a lifetime of work.
Worker Rights: Each year thousands of workers are denied the opportunity to join unions as a result of employer coercion, harassment, threats and intimidation. The ILA calls on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act that will strengthen worker protections and require employers to recognize unions after a majority of workers sign a card check authorization.