PORTWIDE CARGO SECURING COMPANY
A.G. Ship Maintenance Corporation
Servicing the Port of Newark-Elizabeth for over 50 Years
Portwide News
6/26/2020 - MMMCA, NYSA, and ILA to Require Travelers from COVID Hotspots to Quarantine for 14 Days. Labor and Management have agreed upon a mandatory procedure for our industry in order to keep our workers safe and our workplaces disease-free. Click to see the new policy.
6/3/2020 - On Monday (6/1/2020 ) a dedicated port ambulance service started in partnership with Robert Woods Johnson Health Network. An ambulance team will be located at Maher terminals from 6am to 6pm Monday thru Friday. The ambulance team will be able to quickly assess any medical issues that arise while at the port. Thank you for speaking up about the need for this service.
5/7/2020 - REMINDER - Checks will only be given out TODAY 12 noon-3pm. Please pick up or make arrangements to have your check picked up during that time only. Thank you and be safe.
5/7/2020 - Executive Order No. 138
5/4/2020 - Checks will only be available for pick up at the office on Thursday's from 12 noon to 3pm until further notice. Thank you and be safe.
5/1/2020 - The Portwide office will be closed on Friday's for the foreseeable future. Checks can be picked up on Thursday's between 12-3pm. Orders will still be given out via phone on Friday's for the weekend and Monday. Thank you and please stay safe.
4/29/2020 - A third employee has tested for COVID-19. He most recently worked at PNCT on Sunday.
4/27/2020 - Portwide has acquired more masks and hand sanitizer. We will distribute to the foreman and resupply them as needed. Portwide will continue to try and locate any PPE/sanitizer/disinfectant and get it to you, our men, as soon as possible. Stay safe.
4/6/2020 - A 2nd lasher has tested positive for COVID-19. The lasher worked primarily at GCT. This lasher has not worked since March 13th (3+ weeks) because he recognized the symptoms and pulled himself out. If you are feeling any symptoms of COVID-19, PLEASE do what this lasher unselfishly did and do not go to work. Please stay safe everyone.
4/3/2020 - PLEASE READ - NYSA - Notice on How to Stop the Spread of the Coronavirus
4/3/2020 - Subject: NYSA Status Report
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So far the port has 15 positive COVID-19 cases and about another 100 workers out who are quarantining, have underlying health issues or have child care issues. We have created codes and reporting in our system to closely monitor the workforce attrition and also try to figure out what type of relief these people are entitled to with the ever changing federal and state legislation. Because the volume is down we have a surplus of 300-500 workers in the port right now so we have some backup if this exponentially expands in the workforce.
NYSA Hiring Center - We have been slowly moving the operation to work from home and as of tomorrow the NYSA Hiring Center will go to 100% remote. The Waterfront Commission has agreed and has additionally said that there will be no decasualization during this pandemic. We are seeking this in writing from them.
We have been working very closely with ILA Leadership with all of our initiatives and they are very supportive of keeping the supply chain open.
However, as you can imagine there is a high level of anxiety in the workforce. The following actions are taking place to try and reduce that anxiety.
The employers, in addition to obtaining their own stocks of Personal Protection, today received a small supply from the Port Authority. The PA has ordered another batch of PPE which will likely be available in about 2 weeks. In addition to what the PA is doing, the ILA has also placed an order for 100,000 masks which will be airfreighted. Lead time is about 9 days. The ILA Locals, NYSA & the port employers have all agreed to chip in and pay for this shipment.
We have contracted with a vendor to perform the non-contact temperature checks when employees arrive at work and the MTO’s have met with the vendor to establish procedures for their facilities. We have been waiting for delivery of the thermometers and today we received 50 non-contact thermometers that were ordered early last week. We are expecting 10 more to be delivered on Monday. The ILA is supportive of this programs and joint messages to the workforce have been drafted and distributed shortly. We should be good to start temp checks by Tuesday.
The next step is for NYSA and the ILA to agree on what benefits are available to the sick and displaced workers and communicate this to the workforce. Co-counsel are working on this as we speak. Hopefully to laws do not continue to change so we can get something out to the workforce.
I’ll send updates as thing change. Let me know if you have any questions.
Be safe.
John Nardi
4/3/2020 - The Portwide team has been searching tirelessly to obtain cleaning and disinfecting supplies. If you happen to be at a store or come across any disinfectant supplies please consider purchasing extra for the piers that you frequent. Click the link to see the disinfectants known to be effective against the Coronavirus. The website is rather extensive but things such as Lysol wipes and sprays are on the list. Be careful of buying off brand supplies and please try and stick to the above list of disinfectants. THANK YOU and stay safe!
4/1/2020 - Portwide President Tom Delaney has been in constant contact with the New York Shipping Association and Port Authority with the hopes of obtaining facial masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. These items are extremely difficult to source at the moment but we've been told by the PA that some items may become available in the coming days ahead. Please be patient and know that we are doing everything we can to make sure our frontline workers are safe and protected.
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3/30/2020 - A Lasher has tested positive for COVID-19. He last worked at Maher Terminals on March 22nd, 2020.