200-plus longshore jobs available in Tacoma

March 17, 2013 @ 10:44 am

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( http://is.gd/iwfOMv) 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.

___

Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
More Local News
Top Stories

  • So Long
    James Gandolfini, the actor famous for "The Sopranos", has died suddenly in Italy

  • More to the Story
    Liberace's ex-lover says the world will hear more of his story, and Michael Jackson's in there

  • A Skeptic's Doubts
    An ESPN columnist doubts Russell Wilson will ever be elite
MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (2)


  • Add A Comment

  • Fuego wrote...
    I thought all felonies
    March 17, 2013 10:07 am
    would be disqualified. I guess if you know the right people and can prove you can destroy property when on strike you'll be hired.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Just jealous
    March 17, 2013 1:52 pm
    Longshoreman, Teamsters and Operating Engineers are professional people and enjoy the high pay that they deserve. Persons that slam the Unions either aren't qualified or are too lazy to go through the hoops to become a member. I'll be enjoying my retirement soon and won't give you jealous scabs a second thought.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }