by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
New regulations designed to keep security risks out of Jacksonville’s ports are also keeping some longshoreman out of jobs, and several City Council members say they won’t approve the Jacksonville Port Authority’s budget unless the problem is addressed.
Council members questioned the port’s implementation of security regulations that prevent convicted criminals from working on port property. That rule keeps about one out of six Jaxport longshoreman from entering the port. Jaxport representatives say nothing can be done about the federal and State regulations.
That answer may not satisfy Council members Pat Lockett-Felder and Glorious Johnson, both of whom said they wouldn’t approve Jaxport’s budget unless the situation was remedied.
“These people did what the law told them to do. They served their time and were model citizens during their time so they could get out,” said Lockett-Felder. “Now they’re out and they can’t work. I can’t vote yes on a budget that puts people out of work.”
Although Jaxport receives some annual money from City bonds, the port pays most of its own expenses with operating revenue. The port projects to earn about $31 million next year and spend about $23 million. Jaxport has already presented its budget request to the Council’s Finance Committee but still requires full Council approval.
The International Longshoremen’s Association’s local chapter asked Monday for the Finance Committee’s help in making its case to Jaxport. Local chapter president Vincent Cameron said Jaxport could ask for waivers to allow the longshoremen to work. As Cameron answered committee questions, 11 longshoremen stood in the audience.
“We came to the Finance Committee, because we know the budget has to go through the Council, and we need some help getting their (Jaxport’s) attention,” said Cameron after the meeting. “Jaxport looks at this as an administrative function, but we’re talking about people’s jobs and lives.”
Many of those out of work now put in 18-hour days loading military freight for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Cameron.
“Believe me, they didn’t care who was on the docks when they needed us to keep commerce and defense moving,” he said. “We represented our country to the fullest when we were needed, and now we’ve been exposed to exclusionary practices under the guise of defense.”
Jaxport spokesperson Robert Peek said Jaxport’s leadership empathized with the longshoremen. But he said there was no way around State and federal law.
Those laws require identification cards for all Jaxport regulars. The I.D. cards require background checks. That means anyone with a felony conviction in the previous seven years is unlikely to qualify. It’s not just dock workers who have been affected. Truck drivers, delivery professionals, maintenance workers and security personnel all have to qualify said Peek.
Only about one out of every 100 applicants for the I.D. cards is disqualified, said Peek. But Cameron said the rules disproportionately affect longshoremen. He estimated about 50 out of 300 of his union members were being kept out of work by their records. Peek said Jaxport was looking for a solution, but said options were limited given the legal restrictions.
“Even if 99 people out of a hundred pass, that doesn’t help the one that fails and can’t get a job,” said Peek. “We’re sensitive to the fact that it’s how those people make their living and we want to help them, but we have basically no leeway with these regulations.”