Lawrence is one of 50 members of International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1814 who unload cocoa on the piers along the Brooklyn waterfront. After working for five months without a contract the unionists overwhelmingly rejected the company’s offer August 12 and struck.

In 1999, the Brooklyn piers together with Port Newark became the leading U.S. points of entry for cocoa beans. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where cocoa beans used by Nestle’s, Hershey, and other manufacturers are stored. American Warehousing operates these warehouses, which in 1999 stored 2.2 million bags of cocoa.

Two-man teams of workers normally unload up to 1,200 sacks of cocoa per eight-hour shift. The company is seeking to force them to unload 1,500 per shift. The sacks weigh up to 170 pounds and are unloaded from shipping containers that can reach temperatures of 120 degrees. The bosses also want a clause allowing them to schedule mandatory overtime including on weekends. Workers refusing mandatory overtime three times would be subject to dismissal.

"This work is dangerous," explained Mario González. "The oil from the cocoa bean is slick. If you are not working very carefully it will cause a serious accident." Breathing fibers from the sacks causes additional health problems. The company tried to fire a worker who opened a door to ventilate his work area.

"This is slavery," declared Anthony Cucuzza. "This contract offer is the worst I’ve ever seen. I’ve been in the union for 25 years. I will lose three of my four weeks of vacation. And the company wants to take away five of our paid holidays. The pension offer is unbelievable. They want to contribute only 40 cents per day to the pension fund, which comes out to $8 per month. You can’t even see a movie for less than $9 dollars." The company wants to raise the cost of health insurance as well.

The bosses say they need the concessions to compete with nonunion outfits in Philadelphia. Strikers report they have brought replacement workers in from New Jersey.

The union is demanding a one-dollar raise over the next year, sick days, which they presently do not get, and a better pension plan. Raul Vasquez, Jr., vice president of ILA Division 4, who was visiting the picket line, said the company was beginning negotiations.

Asked if the strike had brought the workers together, the dozen unionists who heard the question responded with an emphatic yes. "This strike has made us stronger and more unified," Cucuzza said. "In 25 years on the waterfront this is my first strike. Our only protection is the union. Without unions we have nothing."  
 
 
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