Posted on 02/21/2006 6:42:23 PM PST by BlueHeaven
The Bush administration's pro-business domestic priorities look set to be mirrored in the reconstruction of Iraq. By Andrew Tait, ISN News Editor A US stevedoring company that was at the forefront of last year’s lockout at ports on the west coast of the US has been awarded the US$4.8m contract to manage Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq. The flow of food, medicine and other supplies through the port is considered by US war planners to be essential to their effort to win over the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) "will provide an initial port assessment, develop improvement plans... and supply technical expertise to ensure an adequate flow of through shipment", according to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the client for the project. USAID did not say when work would start on the contract or how long it would last. SSA is the largest marine terminal operator in the US, and was at the forefront of an employer lockout of port workers last year. The port workers trade union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, called SSA’s union-busting agenda the main barrier in talks between the union and the Pacific Maritime Authority - the umbrella group for port operators. In October last year, President George Bush intervened in an industrial dispute that threatened to shut down the west coast of the US by invoking the rarely used Taft-Hartley act against the waterfront workers union - effectively declaring any industrial action illegal. Bush said he invoked the act to avert a looming economic disaster,
(Excerpt) Read more at isn.ethz.ch ...
I can see why we don't use this great USA company - unions hate them but they can do the job.
The company is known for its hard-line towards labor unions and for favoring the use of more technology in the ports to reduce its labor costs.
Stevedoring Services of America, founded in 1949 and one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, had an estimated $1 billion in sales in 2002. The family-owned and -run company is a private venture which operates in more than 150 locations worldwide and employs more than 10,000 people. The Smith and Hemingway families have owned the company since it was founded, and maintain an active management role.
In spring 2003, the company decided to shorten its name to SSA Marine. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the new name is intended to reflect the fact that SSA Marine has expanded its business beyond loading and unloading cargo. During the re-naming process, Carrix Inc. was created as a new parent company for SSA Marine.
The company is known for its hard-line towards labor unions and for favoring the use of more technology in the ports to reduce its labor costs. It has been called the "most anti-union maritime operation on the West Coast" by union leaders.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=56
Maybe this firm should also get the Port Services contract that Bush is trying to give Dubai. Wouldn't that frost the union loving liberals.
Great idea. Private business and free labor always gets the job done better. Always.
All of the P&O port facilities you refer to are union I believe.
Today, SSA Marine and our affiliates operate more cargo terminals than any other company in the world. Our operations and its diversity of cargo, volumes and commercial models and ports are unprecedented in our industry. We strive to ensure that our size and tremendous network of resources continue to add value for our customers.
SSA Marine provides a full spectrum of transportation services including:
Terminal management
Stevedoring
Rail yard operations
Project development management
Technology system design, installation and training
Equipment procurement
Marketing support
Trucking
Warehousing
Off-dock yard operations
Feasibility studies
Few transportation service companies in the world extend as far and wide as SSA Marine, but we continue to look for new opportunities at ports and intermodal facilities around the world.
http://www.ssamarine.com/index.html
Today, SSA Marine and our affiliates operate more cargo terminals than any other company in the world.
That would be even better.
What I meant was that whomever takes over will most likely also have to employ union workers. SSA avoids them.
I would suspect that's why SSA isn't interested in P&O.
The Us to run ports in Iraq? How very interesting
I surmise that it could pit one against the other and there would only be one winner. Who that would be is the mystery.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.