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Despite a shaky start, the Port of Long Beach just wrapped its busiest year on record and December was its busiest month in 110 years.
Demand is rising for medical equipment, along with home improvement items, exercise equipment and office furniture as we all work from home. Meanwhile thousands of dockworkers are sounding the alarm.
“It’s putting a lot of stress on the work force. People are working seven days a week. The cargo is not stopping and I don’t think we’re anywhere close to catching up,” said ILWU crane operator Frank Kostrencich.
At the same time Kostrencich’s coworkers are getting sick and some are dying due to COVID-19. He has to work, but each day he risks bringing the virus home to his wife and kids.
It’s a struggle Local 63 President Michael Podue shares. “This is our family. Down here on the docks we work together. We are together and when one of us gets hurt or passes away or gets sick it affects us emotionally and deeply,” said Podue.
Leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union say the virus has killed at least eight of their members since December and in just the first seven days of January there were more than 50 new positive cases confirmed among dockworkers.