Longshoremen stop working at State Pier

New London ― Longshoremen stopped working at State Pier on Monday, protesting the lack of a long-term commitment from Danish wind company Ørsted and possibly spoiling what was expected to be a milestone week in the construction of the region's first offshore wind farm. More than two-dozen members of the International Longshoremen's Association walked off the job, union officials said.Some union members stood outside the gates leading to State Pier, holding signs and demanding that Ørsted come to the table to negotiate a contract to ensure its longshoremen perform all work associated with offshore wind at ports along the East Coast. Ørsted considers the ILA's demands part of a jurisdictional issue between different unions and said it considered the protest counterproductive.The ILA held a similar protest at State Pier last month. The work stoppage in New London may delay the loading of the first turbine parts scheduled to ship off by barge this week from State Pier to Ørsted's South Fork Wind farm off the coast of Long Island. About 28 longshoremen would typically be working to load the wind turbine parts at State Pier. "It's not going to get loaded until we get this straightened out," Peter Olsen, ILA Local 1411 business manager and spokesman, said. "We're trying to get Ørsted to come back to the table and ... to realize this port is our jurisdiction."While ILA crews already perform most of the work at the pier, the union specifically wants Ørsted to hire and train its workers to run the 500-foot cranes and heavy transport vehicles used to handle the massive wind turbine parts. Those jobs are being performed by Connecticut building trades union members.Keith Brothers, president of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council, which represents construction unions, said its members' work at State Pier is part of a negotiated labor agreement and is considered construction work. "This is what we do for a living," he said. Brothers said that while the trades union members work as a team with ILA members, there is a line between the offloading and loading of vessels, which is longshoremen's work, and work he considers to be construction, such as the assembly of the wind turbine parts. "I respect what they're trying to do, but this is not a good argument," Brothers said. "I don't know how this ends." Olsen said the ILA does not want to give up jurisdiction of its ports and simply needs the training necessary to run the equipment. He said the ILA's dispute is not with the building trade unions.Olsen said that port operator Gateway and the Connecticut Port Authority have backed the union quest for a long-term commitment. Gateway, Olsen said, has already trained some ILA members on some aspects of the work, and more training is planned. "Since taking over port operations and commencing offshore wind activity at State Pier, Gateway New London has strongly supported and has a good relationship with the union workforce at the site," Gateway said in a statement. "We have also agreed to partner with the CPA to underwrite the costs of training for the ILA." Ørsted argues that it has offered the ILA ample funding for training, an offer rejected because it did not come with a guarantee of work. Allison Ziogas, head of labor relations for Ørsted, said the ILA is "trying to unwind a valid Project Labor Agreement," and "deprive their union brothers and sisters of work that only Building Trades' Operating Engineers are qualified to safely perform." "The ILA demanded up-front agreement to reassign these two scopes of work away from their rival union," Ziogas said. "The ILA is not qualified to do those scopes. The ILA has even pressured Ørsted to engage non-union workers for the heavy logistics equipment to prevent the Operating Engineers from participating in the disputed roles. That's not a tenable solution for anyone. Our priority remains maximizing opportunities for local union workers, safety, and keeping South Fork Wind on track. "We remain disappointed that the ILA leadership has refused our offers to fund ILA training so that the local ILA can compete for those scopes in the future," Ziogas continued. "This unproductive protest deprives ILA dockers of a day's wages and fails to advance a solution to their jurisdictional dispute."Olsen said the union is looking out for its future at the ports. "We're not fighting for the short term," he said. "It's not just about two cranes here in New London. There are jobs at different ports from Virginia to Maine." g.smith@theday.com