![]() ![]() Miller and DiCarlo both said they are now comfortable at the hiring hall, navigating around the harbor area, and both feel comfortable approaching other dockworkers if they have any questions or need assistance. The program recently graduated its first two participants, Justin Miller and Anthony DiCarlo. They are setting them up to succeed in this industry,” Olvera said. “These mentors may not become best friends for life with their CODs but what they are doing is setting up that person for life. The goal of the program is to ensure that upon completion, the COD will be comfortable with calculating their hours, checking-in getting their jobs, know where they will be working and know what to expect on the job. “The program will benefit the COD, the industry and the union,” Olvera said. When I started to work where he worked, all of it came flooding back.You don’t know if you want to be in that environment where everything is reminding you about your father.” My dad died when I was 12 but when I entered the industry, I still hadn’t fully processed his death. “You have a situation where someone has lost a parent and is then entering an industry where everybody knew that parent. Let’s not forget the emotional dimension, Dillon said. “There’s just so much that CODs have to deal with. Many years later he successfully reentered the industry but says that he never would have left had a program like this been in place in 1969. Without the necessary support and mentoring, Dillon did not last long. He first entered the industry at the age of 18 in 1969. ![]() Local 13 member Bob Dillon, knows firsthand what it is like to fall through the cracks. ![]() There so many people at the halls, so many windows, it can be overwhelming to an 18-year old or someone in their 20s.” “In Southern California, we’ve got 10,000 casuals and 7,000 members and it’s very easy for people to fall through the cracks and get lost. “In some of the smaller ports, the membership is small enough where they can take care of one another,” explained Bobby Olvera, Jr. This is the first program of its kind on the West Coast. This program will pair up the COD with an experienced longshoreman who will work with them for at least 60 days to mentor them about the industry, their job and their responsibilities as union longshore workers. In order to address these issues, ILWU Local 13 recently began mentor program for CODs. Unlike casuals who are registered as a group and can lean on one another when they get lost or experience difficulties on the job, CODs are often isolated and may not have an adequate support structure when they need help. Without the adequate guidance and support needed to learn the dispatch process, record keeping and the geographical knowledge of the harbor, many CODs were falling through the cracks with an unacceptably high rate of quitting or being deregistered. These young men and women, often in the earliest years of adulthood, with little or no knowledge of what it is like to work on the waterfront, have found it difficult to succeed in the industry. This program provides an entryway for sons and daughters of deceased longshore workers into the industry as Class B longshoremen. It’s especially difficult for someone entering the industry under the child of the deceased (COD) program. Learning to navigate the longshore hiring hall and finding your way around the massive Southern California harbor area is a challenging task for anyone just entering the industry. Behind them stand other mentors in the program, along with ILWU Local 13 Vice President, Bobby Olvera, Jr. Di Carlo and Miller were the first to complete the mentor program thanks to help of their mentors, Yanez and Escobar. In the front row are (L-R) Anthony Di Carlo, Gerardo Luis Yanez, Justin Miller and Jose Escobar.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |