• Tough talk
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I see that "Teddy" Gleason, 73-year-old president of the International Longshoremen's Association, told the New York and New Jersey Motor Truck Associations recently: "We're not going to have strikes any more and we mean it. What the hell do we need strikes for? Nobody wins a strike."
This sounds a bit like an April 1 story, but it may, strangely, be true for Gleason went on to say that to promote productivity "the ILA will take the guaranteed annual wage away from members who don't want to work".
Gleason confirmed that there will be no merger between the ILA and the Teamsters, though a merger between the ILA and the West Coast International Longshore Workers' Association is still a possibility. The old union boss said: "We would be happy if there would be a trucking association which would include the Teamsters, to bring all elements of the business together. . . . If we work together with the trucking industry . . we can bring new benefits to both industries.. . I'd like to go out with an organization welded together involving all elements of transportation such as the type of arrangement that now exists at the Port of Rotterdam."