Seward seaport record., 1954-05-07

With the height of the ship ping season just around the cor ner, the possibility looms that The Alaska Railroad may return to it's traditional practice of do ing its own stevedoring work in Seward instead of letting this work out on contract.
 Skyrocketing costs of long snoring operations here were cited by the Railroad in it's de- cision to consider handling shoreside cargo with ARR em- ployees.
 Prior to 1947, the Railroad had always performed this work, but in the past seven years, it has been the practice to utilize commercial stevedoring firms which handle the job under con tract.
 The present contract expires June 30. The Railroad issued in vitations for bid in February, but F. E. Kalbaugh, Alaska Rail road general manager, said the bids received represent an ab- normal cost for such services. "
 "In fact" he added, "the cost is so high that it bears no rela- tion to the 25 percent Alaska wage differential for longshor- ing"
 In issuing the bid invitations this year, railroad officials said they warned prospective bidders that existing working agree ments in Seward differed with working agreements existing in West Coast ports.
 The railroad also requested bidders to submit a separate statement, setting forth what percentage of reduction could be made if West Coast practices prevailed in the Port of Seward. Invitations closed on March 15, but rail offiicals said the lowest bid was 50 high that a survey was inaugurated to de termine whether the work could be done more reasonably if the longshoring were handled as a railroad operation.
 At least one of the bidders, however, declared that his firm could substantially reduce the cost to the railroad if his firm could negotiate an agreement with the IL.W.U. which was the same as the existing IL.W.U. agreements in the Port of Seattle or San Francisco. This saving could be made, the bidder said, even with the additional 25 per cent differential which is stan dard between West Coast ports and Seward.
 With no such agreement in sight last month, however, the railroad began it's plans to han dle its own stevedoring. It was pointed out that if this becomes necessary, port practices some what similar to those used in Seattle or San Francisco will be inaugurated, with the exception of hiring hall practices.
 In a letter to Mir. K. Stanley Rustad and MT. Kenneth Baker, president and secretary respec- lively of IL.W.U., Local 82, Mr. Kalbaugh informed the union of the railroads plans and asked for a list of those longshoremen who will desire to enter railroad employ in the event the railroad were to take over the operation.
 The list, MT Kalbaugh pointed out, would be necessary in order to assure that longshoremen would retain their relative sen iority status toward one another
 Men on the unions list would receive employment priority, Kalbaugh said, providing they are eligible for Federal hire. In dividual clearance would first have to be obtained from the Civil Service Commission and the FBI.
 Additional personnel required over and above those hired from the union would be recruited from the ranks of railroad em- ployees who were furloughed in past force reductions.
 Railroad officials said the un- ion was asked to submit the list of employees on or before May 10, but that to date no reply has been received.
 Names submitted by the H. W.U. prior to midnight of the deadline date will head up the seniority list, the railroad said, with names received after that date being placed on the senior ity list in the order received.
 MT. Kalbaugh said The Alaska Railroad anticipates receiving