Workers Save The Day, heroes on the Hudson

Veteran Air Force, airline safety advocate , former Airline Pilots Association(ALPA) and current USAPA member makes emergency crash landing into the Hudson River, quick action by all parties involved saves every single passenger.

155 passengers and crew of US Airways Flight 1549 are safe!

I salute all the workers who pulled off an amazing rescue in New York’s Hudson River. From the veteran 40 year pilot who navigated the craft to an emergency landing, to all the ferry captains and crew members who raced to scoop up the passengers to the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit divers who grabbed the remaining passengers and pulled them to safety.

Story at NY Newsday: No shortage of heroes in Hudson emergency landing

Emergency crews and commuter ferries sprang into action from New York and New Jersey and met freezing, panicked passengers _ some of whom let out cheers when the boats arrived.

“We had to pull an elderly woman out of a raft in a sling. She was crying. … People were panicking. They said, ‘Hurry up, hurry up,”‘ said Vincent Lombardi, captain of the first boat to get to the plane. “We gave them the jackets off our backs.”

The New York City Fire Department got the first emergency call at 3:31 and was on the scene less than five minutes later. NY Waterway ferries shuttling passengers to and from New Jersey deployed within moments. In total, 14 vessels responded to the scene, with crews trained to respond to people overboard.

Across the river, Weehawken, N.J., police, firefighters and emergency medical service workers boarded ferries awaiting rush hour and headed to the plane, minutes after the pilot heroically guided the jet into the water after the engine failed.

Pictures from The New York Times (click link for full size and more images)

Pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III is a true hero

I’m still amazed, so what about the pilot, here’s a tidbit from examiner.com, by Ron Moore entitled “Miracle on the Hudson happened thanks to the skill and dedication of union workers ” which is the first thing I thought when I was listening to the details of the rescue:

Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III, the pilot credited with landing US Airways flight 1549 gently on the Hudson River is a veteran of 40 years. The “miracle on the Hudson” is really a result of professional pilots organizing to ensure that they get the best support and training at the highest standards in the industry. Captain Sullenberger is a former safety chairman, accident investigator and national committee member for the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA). His ALPA safety work led to the development of a Federal Aviation (FAA) Advisory Circular.

The next time you see the scurrilous advertising by the opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act, remember they are insulting union members like Captain Sullenberger. From the pilots, to the flight attendants to the members of the FDNY, the “miracle on the Hudson” happened thanks to the skill and dedication of union workers.

More info via Google News:

NY divers, ferries plucked air passengers from river Reuters – 33 minutes ago By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Reuters) – Passengers from the US Airways plane that crash-landed in New York’s Hudson River huddled on the wings in freezing …

A Quick Rescue Kept Death Toll at Zero New York Times, United States – 44 minutes ago By MICHAEL WILSON and AL BAKER The police divers found two women, going limp, with minutes to live in the frigid waters between New York and New Jersey. …

Text Message: ‘I Landed in the Hudson’ New York Times, United States – 44 minutes ago By JAMES BARRON Sheikh Ali was at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Thursday afternoon waiting for Matt Kane, a co-worker aboard US Airways Flight …

Pilot’s actions make him an instant hero Globe and Mail, Canada – 45 minutes ago By all accounts, Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger is just the guy you’d want at the controls of a troubled and falling airplane. A seven-year Air Force veteran …

‘A miracle on the Hudson’
Globe and Mail, Canada – 48 minutes ago
NEW YORK — Jeff Kolodjay could hardly have picked a better time to head south for a golf trip. Temperatures had dipped to -10 – easily one of the coldest …

West Coast Longshoremen and shippers reach tentative 6 year agreement, full coverage continues with pact

Haven’t written much about this, but I’m glad a tentative agreement has been reached

From Google News

« View all web results for ilwu reaches 6 year tentative agreement

Labor Notes

West Coast dockworkers reach tentative 6–year deal with shippers International Herald Tribune, France – 16 hours ago The International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced a six-year agreement Monday after lengthy weekend negotiations with Pacific Maritime Association. … Tentative Agreement Reached Covering 25000 Workers at 29 West … FOXBusiness Union, shippers reach accord on contract San Francisco Chronicle Dockworkers Reach Tentative Deal Wall Street Journal Reuters – Los Angeles Business Journal (subscription) all 272 news articles »

West Coast dockworkers reach deal with shippers The Associated Press – 8 hours ago The union previously reached an agreement with shippers on a health care plan expected to cost about $500 million this year. The union had sought to retain …

Wall Street Journal

US West Coast dockworkers talks go past deadline Reuters UK, UK – Jul 1, 2008 A six-year contract covering dockworkers up and down the West Coast expired at 5 pm (0000 GMT) on Tuesday but representatives for employers and for the … Ports labor talks still amicable Long Beach Press-Telegram West Coast shippers, union still bargaining Philadelphia Inquirer Clock ticks down on US West Coast dockworkers contract Reuters UK all 129 news articles »

Here’s an article that explains more, from Patrick Burnson, the Executive Editor of Logistics Managment, “Ocean cargo: ILWU and PMA reach tentative agreement on contract” (7/29/08):

SAN FRANCISCO—Following what has been described as “marathon weekend bargaining session,” leaders from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced a preliminary agreement on terms for a new six year contract covering more than 25,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports. The leaders shook hands in San Francisco over the proposed agreement late yesterday.

Shippers, who had been hoping that a contract would be signed before the last one expired on July 1, welcomed the news nonetheless.

“We are just happy that this (bargaining session) is through,” said Joel Anderson, president of the International Warehouse and Logistics Association (IWLA).“Now we can get back to the business of moving freight.”

The agreement is subject to ratification by the ILWU and PMA membership. The ILWU and PMA have agreed to extend the previous agreement and resume normal port operations.

ILWU president Bob McEllrath and PMA president Jim McKenna said the proposed agreement meets the needs of both workers and the industry. It allows West Coast ports to be competitive and provides the good jobs that workers and communities need.

The parties have agreed not to discuss details of the agreement until the ILWU a nd PMA leadership teams have communicated with their respective membership.

The West Coast longshoremen are the highest-paid blue-collar workers in America. Average full-time wages for fully registered workers exceed $136,000. ILWU members also enjoy fully employer-paid health benefits, with no premiums or deductibles and 100 percent coverage for standard medical benefits. Based on a tentative agreement, those fully-paid benefits would continue.

At the same time, the PMA has reminded shippers that West Coast ports generate almost $1.3 trillion in domestic business impacts – representing 11 percent of total U.S. gross domestic product – and support more than 8 million direct and indirect U.S. jobs.

Hope it works out OK for all parties.

Building Bridges Radio: Colombian May Day brutality and West Coast dock shutdown

Colombian May Day Brutality and West Coast Docker workers shut down the ports

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*Click above to listen to story

West Coast Ports

Tens of thousands of docks, members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union shut down the west coast ports in a protest against the war. While an arbitrators decision prevented the ILWU from officially sponsoring the strike, its members turned out en masse. The stand-down at ports including Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle 40% of the imported goods arriving in the United States each year idled ships and halted movement of about 10,000 containers during the eight-hour stoppage.

Colombian Workers Brutalized at May Day Protests

The Bush Administration continues to push through a new free trade agreement with Colombia despite its history of assassinations and repression of trade unionists. The Colombian government claims its fighting that violence, which it says is perpetuated by paramilitary organizations. However, when Building Bridges reporters called Colombia on May 1, 2008 to speak with Javier Correa, Pres. of the Sinaltrainal union we learned that more than one hundred workers at their May Day demonstrations had been arrested, many were beaten and some had been disappeared .

See the full description of the stories and learn more about Building Bridges Radio at UnionReview or at the Building Bridges website

Building Bridges is regularly broadcast live over WBAI, 99.5 FM in the N.Y.C Metropolitan area on Mondays from 7-8pm EST and is streamed, archived and pod cast at www.wbai.org, it is also broadcast nationally in many locations. For more information contact Ken Nash – knash@igc.org

May 1st., 2003, mission accomplished, 5 years later West Coast dockworkers strike against war

Follow up to: West coast Longshoreman to strike against war as Iraq conflict costs hit 1/2 a trillion and more news you may have missed (3/08/08)

Five years ago this day, President Bush all dressed up for a party in his flight suit, landed in a jet onto the deck of an aircraft carrier, he then spoke before this very nation and the entire world under a banner that read “Mission Accomplished”.

Today, 100% of people with a brain know that just isn’t the case. on the west Coast the ILWU has struck the docks and paralyzed the coast, against arbitrator demands that they go to work. These fine men and women have had enough and proceeded with The West Coast dockworkers strike against the war.

the IRAQ WAR

500 Billion plus US dollars

4,000 plus Americans dead

Mission Accomplished, My ASS!

From ABC News

And for those who think it’s quieted down, insurgents today dramatically reminded us that it is a long way from over. At least 35 people were killed, 76 wounded in a double suicide bombing north of Baghdad. It was a brutal assault – the first bomber, a woman, blew herself up in a crowded market in a Shiite town. Then, as security forces began dealing with the carnage, a second bomber blew himself up.

From LAList

All West Coast Ports Closed for May Day Strike

Security personnel place warning cones in front of the closed gates at the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles. West Coast cargo traffic has come to a halt as port workers stage anti-war protests to commemorate May Day. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

In the name of ending the war, all 29 ports along the West Coast, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, have halted operations for one shift. “We are supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq,” dockworkers’ union president Bob McEllrath said in a press release.

Two years ago today, a similar protest happened when thousands of truck drivers stayed away to participate in “Day Without Immigrants.” This year, the truckers are being turned away from the gates of ports until they can return later this evening when the 6:00 p.m. shift begins.

Today also “serves as a reminder of the 2002 dispute between the maritime association and the dockworkers that paralyzed West Coast ports for 10 days,” noted the LA Times.