200-plus longshore jobs available in Tacoma
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Tacoma's Longshore Union is quietly opening up more than 200 jobs to the public this week.
The union will conduct a lottery on April 8 to pick 226 people to become casual workers.
To be entered in that drawing, potential workers must submit their name, address, phone number and signature on a postcard to the union's and employers' Joint Port Labor Relations Committee by mail, The News-Tribune reported in Sunday's newspaper. That postcard must be postmarked no later than midnight Wednesday.
The jobs may not be immediately lucrative. They're at the bottom rung of the longshore workers' ladder. Casuals work on the waterfront only after regular longshore workers are all occupied or unavailable. Those positions could lead to regular longshore jobs eventually.
The last time the union invited the public to apply for jobs was in 2005, when about 16,000 people entered a lottery to win one of the 938 unidentified casual positions. Another 938 casuals were automatically selected because they were referred by Longshore Union members or employers.
The jobs opened up because the container business was booming, but container traffic stalled in 2007 and then declined by aobut 25 percent by 2010, so those casual workers mostly did not benefit from the opportunity.
A recent surge in Tacoma port activity has prompted the union to try again.
Union members will get special cards to distribute to friends and family member. A committee will draw 113 cards from the 1,100 or so submitted through this process.
Members of the public who wish to be entered in the job lottery, must print their last, first and middle names, telephone number and address on the back of a 3 1/2-inch-by-5 1/2-inch postcard and sign it. It should be mailed to the Joint Port Labor Relations Committee, Attention: Tacoma 2013 Casual Process, P.O. Box 11263, Tacoma, WA 98411. The card must be postmarked by midnight Wednesday.
The union committee will select 113 cards from those submitted by the public and 113 from friends of union members. Those 226 cards will then be combined and drawn and assigned a number based on their drawing order, the group said.
That number will determine the order in which the applicants will be invited to appear for processing. About three weeks after the April 8 drawing, the list of those drawn and their drawing order will be posted on ilwu.org and on pmanet.org for 30 days.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have no "disqualifying felonies" on their records, be physically and mentally able to perform longshore work with or without reasonable accommodations for disabilities. Successful candidates, the committee said, must have sufficient understanding of English to understand safety warnings and be eligible to work in the United States.
The union will conduct a lottery on April 8 to pick 226 people to become casual workers.
To be entered in that drawing, potential workers must submit their name, address, phone number and signature on a postcard to the union's and employers' Joint Port Labor Relations Committee by mail, The News-Tribune reported in Sunday's newspaper. That postcard must be postmarked no later than midnight Wednesday.
The jobs may not be immediately lucrative. They're at the bottom rung of the longshore workers' ladder. Casuals work on the waterfront only after regular longshore workers are all occupied or unavailable. Those positions could lead to regular longshore jobs eventually.
The last time the union invited the public to apply for jobs was in 2005, when about 16,000 people entered a lottery to win one of the 938 unidentified casual positions. Another 938 casuals were automatically selected because they were referred by Longshore Union members or employers.
The jobs opened up because the container business was booming, but container traffic stalled in 2007 and then declined by aobut 25 percent by 2010, so those casual workers mostly did not benefit from the opportunity.
A recent surge in Tacoma port activity has prompted the union to try again.
Union members will get special cards to distribute to friends and family member. A committee will draw 113 cards from the 1,100 or so submitted through this process.
Members of the public who wish to be entered in the job lottery, must print their last, first and middle names, telephone number and address on the back of a 3 1/2-inch-by-5 1/2-inch postcard and sign it. It should be mailed to the Joint Port Labor Relations Committee, Attention: Tacoma 2013 Casual Process, P.O. Box 11263, Tacoma, WA 98411. The card must be postmarked by midnight Wednesday.
The union committee will select 113 cards from those submitted by the public and 113 from friends of union members. Those 226 cards will then be combined and drawn and assigned a number based on their drawing order, the group said.
That number will determine the order in which the applicants will be invited to appear for processing. About three weeks after the April 8 drawing, the list of those drawn and their drawing order will be posted on ilwu.org and on pmanet.org for 30 days.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have no "disqualifying felonies" on their records, be physically and mentally able to perform longshore work with or without reasonable accommodations for disabilities. Successful candidates, the committee said, must have sufficient understanding of English to understand safety warnings and be eligible to work in the United States.
A little info:
Ok POST CARD!!!! It is NOT a index card. Go to the U.S. Post office and go to the counter and ask for a post card. it is the correct size. I have been thru this process before so
had a question the article says send a postcard, but is it an index card to be sent or an actual postcard with a picture on one side and a place to write information on the other?
I've been an Id Casual in another state for 7 years and counting. Anyone wondering how the process works, in order to be hired into the ILWU as a member, they are selected by accumulated industry hours (# of hours worked) highest hours first and so on. In order to get in (the union), make no mistake, it is a "Full Time Job" just trying to keep your hours up. I'm at the hall Every Day/Twice a Day for Morning/Afternoon dispatch, catching a shift less than 10% of the time. last time I worked was 2 weeks ago. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE
Bedder get your but down there
Also can you put in more than one entry?
@Danny Edwards no
I just want to know what the disqualifying felonies are?
Enjoy the work Tacoma longshore men while you can.
Ultimately the B.C. area will be the major receiving port for shipments from the far east. Two days shorter transit time cannot be compensated for.Â
@George the problem with B.C is that to get cargo over the border it will be too expensive. The US has been fighting for this to not happen. all cargo gets a huge tax to come over the border to the US if it is discharged in BC
@George Ironic that BC with its unionized workers and universal health care will get all the jobs. George... you liberal activist you! I guess all that conservative anti-unionism/anti government health care stuff is kind of subjective when you guys choose eh?
@George Why BC? The panama canal is being dug out for larger ships and then they can just cut through the canal and unload in Houston and rail it north.
I wonder, do the cards have to be exactly 3.5x5.5?
@mrs.moore YES! the best explanation is in the Tacoma News Tribune Paper. It clearly states all cards not to size will be thrown out. Go to the Post Office to get the correct size
I hope many of these jobs go to the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lets get real the first 180 jobs will go to people that know someone in the union at there so called drawing...
@JixxyJexxy @Hellyesss what kind of job is that?
@MewnBeam @Hellyesss primarily working with loading and unloading the boats that come in driving forklifts directing trucks etc etc
@MewnBeam @Hellyesss working at the tide flats various jobs that make great money and great bennies
Yup,,  the union is QUIETLY opening these jobs as advertised on KOMO news. :O)  No doubt they will have no problem finding  "CASUAL" workers now that pot is legalized,,  :O)Â
@Cougartwin Too bad they have to pass a drug screen. it is legal in this state but not federallyÂ
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Not nearly as many good paying jobs left in the port down there. Good luck to anyone trying.Â
Also.....always remember what can happen (Kaiser Aluminum, Etc) if one pissed off greedy CEO goes amok......A mere show of good will for PRs sake only. Cronyism/nepotism is the word of the day w/ the longshoremen. The article made reference to 938 people "automatically" chosen to be eligible for the 938 jobs. Huh? Wha? I wonder exactly how many of those people work there actively now versus how many from the remaining 15,000+ people? That being said, our ports are the most pathetically run outfits anywhere in the world. A private sector business couldn't survive the way they do. Â
So much for "Quietly opening".
"..and be eligible to work in the United States."
I am pulling a Red Hypocrisy Card on this one. BIG time.
Tell us why a Union that (along with their parent AFL-CIO) can't shut their yaps about bringing in illegals deems it necessary to have their OWN jobs protected from illegal labor? You guys are traitors to the Union- cause and  I say this as a Union member for over 35 years.Â
@Getov Mylon Typically unions dont care how or why they got here, thats not their problem or mission. The union's mission is to organize em and protect their family's welfare as well as protecting the existing member's families by keeping area standards intact. Or, would you rather continue down the road of a declining standard of living for the working class?
@T_BONE_WALKER
"Successful candidates, the committee said, must have sufficient understanding of English to understand safety warnings and be eligible to work in the United States."
Racists! They should definitely not be required to speak/understand English or have work authorization! Racists!
@T_BONE_WALKER Working class? Or Union members? The only way to increase wages is to increase the demand for labor or to decrease its supply. For a Union to advocate an increase in the supply of labor is detrimental to its members. And for a Union to openly invite illegal labor (as ILWU and AFL-CIO do) to compete with other workers while demanding protections for its own members is a hypocrisy of the highest magnitude..
@Getov Mylon "Increased supply of WORKERS, not Union members, drives wages down".
If you reread my first reply to you, you would notice my comment about area standars. Glad you agree.
 Its ironic that I would have this conversation with a son of an immigrant that happens to belong to a union.
@T_BONE_WALKER If  a Union that advocates  illegal immigration but forbids illegals from working in their own shops isn't hypocrisy, I don't know what is.
@T_BONE_WALKERÂ Increased supply of WORKERS, not Union members, drives wages down. Â I know they no longer teach Econ 101 and your posts generally exhibit evidence of that.Â
There is a reason that my Union counterparts in Southern border cities make far less than me.
@Getov Mylon You are a union member? You think your union had to get smaller for you to get your raises? I have heard a lot of BS before but that one there is the funniest.Â
Wages go up based on proficiency or CPI. Like I said before, the union doesn't care where the worker comes from as long as they organize them. Growing a union is the job of the union. Shrinking a union to protect the overtime of a few is a scam or, a boys club and has little to do with organized labor. Unions invite labor, if the labor is in the country unlawfully, that is not the problem of the union. The only concern the union has over those people is that they are represented, thats all.Â
I wont argue the meaning of hypocrisy with you, it appears you know the meaning much better then me.
That's a Union for ya. Lets just have a lottery to see who gets the jobs because god knows you don't need to be able to do the job to apply.
@Seahawker You still have to pass a physical exam and show that you're capable of performing the work. An open lottery system like this prevents discriminatory hiring practices in regards to race, gender, nationality, and political affiliation.
@alexjon work the what?
@ThriceJamie I know, I know! I won't delete the tweet because it's funny.
@alexjon @ThriceJamie It tells us where your mind was.
@alexjon Work the.. what?
@dagryph ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, damn. Oh well, I'll leave it up because it's funny.
@alexjon LOL! Excellent.
"Union members will get special cards to distribute to friends and family member."
"That number will determine the order in which the applicants will be invited to appear for processing."
"Special cards," got that? Half the invitations go to the connected, half goes to public lottery winners.  And anyone want to guess what the ratio of Union embers (spell-check WIN!) to public-at-large nonacceptance is? Think about it, most Union members will at least nominate family members and friends that are capable of doing the "work." The "public at large" will include residents of Western State Hospital and numerous weirdos and wackos or the physically challenged /handicapped. So although it might seem an equal number of connected and non-connected will be hired, in reality, it will be mostly the connected.
My question is: Do you have to supply your own baseball-bat-handled picket-sign or  is it provided for you?
THANK YOU!!!! Awesome Info!!
My Hubby does Commercial Construction and has been laid off since August!!! We'll try anything - he's such a good worker, anyone would be lucky to have him!!
Good luck to the new casuals. It will be a long hard road to a steady income in that industry.
@Rockberry I've been an Id Casual in another state for 7 years and counting. Anyone wondering how the process works, in order to be hired into the ILWU as a member, they are selected by accumulated industry hours (# of hours worked) highest hours first and so on. In order to get in (the union), make no mistake, it is a "Full Time Job" just trying to keep your hours up. I'm at the hall Every Day/Twice a Day for Morning/Afternoon dispatch, catching a shift less than 10% of the time. last time I worked was 2 weeks ago. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE
@Rockberry Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. The boyfriend of a lady I worked with a few years back was on the list for call-ups for longshore workers. He rarely ever worked. This went on for the over 8 years I knew her. It's a great job IF you actually work.