By LARRY KANTER
Senior Reporter
When Joseph N. Miniace became head of the Pacific Maritime Association two and a half years ago, one of his main goals was to shake up what he saw as decades of complacency on the waterfront.
And at that, he’s been an undeniable success.
The PMA, a consortium of 110 shipping lines and terminal operators that move cargo through West Coast seaports, negotiates and administers maritime labor agreements with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Convinced that his members were not getting their money’s worth from highly paid dockworkers, Miniace gave a series of interviews decrying declining productivity levels. He also filed a number of lawsuits charging the union with illegal work stoppages that he claims have idled cargo and cost shippers tens of millions of dollars.
He’s certainly grabbed people’s attention. “People up and down the coast are asking, ‘Who is this guy?’ ” said Peter Peyton, a longshore marine clerk and a member of ILWU Local 63.
Whether Miniace’s tough stance will pay off during upcoming contract negotiations remains to be seen. A federal judge in December dismissed one suit. And the PMA voluntarily dropped another.
But Miniace insists that the threat of litigation has resulted in a decline in work stoppages and has proven that the PMA will be a serious negotiating partner once talks begin in April.
He’s also softened his rhetoric in recent months. “We’re looking for peace,” he said in a recent interview with the Business Journal. “We’re looking for trust. I feel that they want to work things out.”
Miniace has nearly three decades of experience in labor relations in the transportation and health care industries. Prior to coming to the PMA, he was vice president of administration and human resources at New York University Medical Center, where he oversaw a substantial downsizing of hospital staff. Before that, he spent a decade in labor relations at Ryder System Inc.
But his lack of experience in maritime affairs draws scorn from many longtime dockworkers. “He doesn’t understand our industry,” says Mike Mitre, a crane operator with ILWU Local 13.
But Miniace wears his outsider status like a badge of honor.
“I think it’s time we had some outsiders coming into the industry,” he said. “Because outsiders come in and ask, ‘Why? Why is that truck not moving at the gate? Why is there backup?’ You ask a lot of whys. That’s a real advantage.”
For the first time in decades, the ILWU is “seeing a PMA president who is standing up and talking about things that he sees,” he said. “And no one is used to that. But I’m not their enemy, not even a little bit.”
