Massive Union Crowd Celebrates at Port

After pounding the pavement for three days, John Anthony Glasby was happy to finally reach the Port of Los Angeles, where he has labored as a longshore worker for the past decade.

Glasby and hundreds of others marched for 28 miles as part of an effort to bring attention to a series of pending labor contract negotiations with employers across Los Angeles County.

The "Hollywood to the Docks" march culminated with a massive rally attended by some 2,000 people gathered near the port's cruise terminal. The carnival-like atmosphere featured food, fiery speeches, and cheering union workers.

"My feet hurt right now but everyone really stuck together as one through this thing," said Glasby, a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 13, which represents more than 20,000 dock workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

"As a longshoreman, death can come at any moment if you don't stay safe," he said. "Our contract is up in July, and we want to see something that reflects that danger."

The march kicked off near the La Brea Tar Pits on Tuesday, the same day that Hollywood studios opened negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Actors from both unions are seeking similar "new media" income that was sought by the Writers Guild of America earlier this year. The current contracts for SAG and AFTRA members expire in June.

"We want as much if not more than what the writers got," said Henry Yamada, an actor who played bit parts in "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" and several other feature films.

"Hopefully we won't end up in a strike like they did," he said. "That's why we need to get as much support as we can."

More than 350,000 workers - including actors, teachers, janitors, dock workers and airport skycaps - belonging to 30 unions spread across Los Angeles County are scheduled to renegotiate their respective contracts this year.

More than 30,000 other people are also trying to unionize their jobs as port truck drivers, security officers, hotel workers and car wash employees.

"The fight for good jobs is important no matter where we live," said Maria Elena Durazo, secretary-treasurer for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, an umbrella group for more than 300 local unions.

"Everyone is struggling with the cost of living and housing and they shouldn't," she said. "This is our fight."

art.marroquin@dailybreeze.com