From The Dispatcher at ILWU.org:
Outsourcing is not the answer: The Panama Canal Authority wants to outsource tugboat jobs, one of many flawed ideas proposed in recent years.
Union officials in Panama and the United States joined together in early March to criticize plans by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) that call for outsourcing tugboat operations.
The ILWU International Union and its affiliate, the Panama Canal Pilots Union, joined with the Masters, Mates and Pilots union (MM&P) and their affiliate UCOC, and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) with their Panamanian affiliate UIM – in a show of solidarity for the Panamanian union of tugboat captains (UCOC).
The Tugboat Captains have been waging a battle for at least three years against the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) which is pushing plans to outsource tugboat jobs to an Venezuelan outfit, the Meyers Group. ILWU International Vice President (Mainland) Ray Familathe attended the meeting along with Alvaro Moreno, General Secretary of the Panama Canal Pilots Union. After union leaders finished their discussions, they issued a joint statement condemning the Canal’s outsourcing plan, noting that it jeopardizes good local jobs, worker safety and security for one of the world’s most strategic waterways.