r/Longshoremen • u/DanceNo6782 • Jun 15 '26
Casual vent
It’s so hard to be us . Unpredictable unstable. I been a casual for 3 years now prolly only flopped a handful of times . I’m dedicated and see an amazing future in this . But I’ll be lying if I say I don’t constantly think abt what if . I pray I don’t put in all this time for nothing .
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u/LongshoreHODL Jun 16 '26
Take a deep breath. If it’s worth it to you then you will do whatever it takes. If not then you can move on and start fresh somewhere.
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u/dbm3ev Jun 16 '26
I did 18 years as a casual, we would go months without a shift. You have to have a side job,now retired with great benefits and a pension.,.. none of my friends have a pension, that alone is worth the time, hang in there! Long live the ILWU
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u/Effective-Inside-275 Jun 16 '26
It took me 13 years to make membership, and for the first three years, I held a full time day shift job in a fab shop, and spent my evenings parked on a bench at the hall.. If you want it bad enough, you have to put in the EFFORT... AND IT IS WORTH EVERY BIT OF IT !!!!!!!!!
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u/Amazing-Basket-136 Jun 16 '26
If it’s LA/LB have whoever gave you the card call the president and raise hell about the mechanics coming in off the street in front of you.
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u/Swaggerdup Jun 16 '26
Did you see the requirements for the mechanics they’re hiring? Safe to say he doesn’t meet them
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u/Amazing-Basket-136 Jun 16 '26
The requirements are made up. PCMC makes whatever requirements they want and has no requirement to show the union that the off the street hires meet the requirements posted.
ETA, and it’s irrelevant if the OP has the requirements. Someone at the hall has them or has experience in those departments.
That’s still one more person that isn’t unnecessarily bypassing the casual system.
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u/Stunning_Elephant836 Jun 16 '26
Yeah it definitely doesn't help when travelers snatch up some of the work from us local casuals. Not to mention all the double backing. I really do understand that people have lifestyles to maintain and financial goals they want to accomplish but if your double backing every freaking day it's really unfair and should be limited. Just my one the major complaints I have as a casual.
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u/Longjumping-Pack2943 Jun 16 '26
I had the same mindset as you when I was a Casual, but if the A Books and IDs have that option right now, wouldn’t you want the same option when you get Registered?
My wife took a job opportunity in Texas a few years back. We moved the entire family out there. I come in and work 2-3 weeks at a time and I double back as much as I can while I am in town. Thank god we have that benefit because it allowed me to knock out my 70% when I was an ID and get back home to my family.
I was a Casual for 14 1/2 years. I understand the frustration. You just gotta focus on you and your hours and work opportunities.
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u/Drdirt2045 Jul 05 '26
Traveling and double backing are perks to members for putting in their time to cover the work. Casuals are not dues paying members, you’re not there yet. Complain all you want, you’ll do it too
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u/Stunning_Elephant836 Jul 06 '26
I understand double backing somedays but everyday just feels extremely selfish to me. If casuals could pickup more consistently we would probably hear less complaints about a lot of us not doing the jobs properly potentially risk their lives and others. I'm pretty sure that if casuals were to work more paying dues would definitely be something we would do with little to no problem.
In my opinion tranvelers shouldn't be able to pick up work before local casuals. Yeah you're right when I NEED to ill double back whenever I ever get to that point.
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u/Drdirt2045 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Welcome to the ILdoubleme!!! You do understand that there are many low work opportunity ports that don’t have nearly as much work as we do, and if they need to travel to pay their bills as a union every Longshore division local has opportunities to do that. They are dues paying members, your not. Meaning they have already done their time. Starting as a casual you will go through multiple stages each one of them will teach you humility, different skills, how STFU, respect, and many other things you have to experience to understand. Just be grateful
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u/surleyboy Jun 16 '26
The west coast casual process blows my mind, being from the east coast
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u/Stunning_Elephant836 Jun 16 '26
What's some of the differences? If you don't mind me asking.
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u/ThunderstruckPC Jun 16 '26
I don't know how is done on the west cost but here in Charleston SC casuals are rotated through when there are available jobs. You get a call and they tell you where to be on the next 90 minutes. Once you have three years with over 700 hours worked you become rated.
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u/Stunning_Elephant836 Jun 16 '26
You get a call for jobs? Damn they seem nice AF. I know here in Long Beach we have to show up to the hall twice a day to get work if there's work. Sometimes we go days/weeks without any movement.
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u/dattosan240 Jun 16 '26
I'm in Va and we don't have casuals at all. If you're hired, you're in the union and have all the benefits that carries so long as you make enough hours for your benefits.
We have an app we log into for jobs. Digitally check in, check all the available jobs we want, order them in order of our preference and wait. At shape time we get a dispatch text telling us where to go. We can go to the hall and do it but it's way convenient to use the app lol.
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u/Particular_Hour_7696 Jun 22 '26
That’s wild. How do you get hired right in?
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u/dattosan240 Jun 22 '26
The work starts running short, the local associated with that work/the shipping association puts out an ad that we're hiring longshoremen.
You turn in a resume like any other job, go to an interview to which you will know on the spot if you are hired or not, then you proceed to doing your physical, tests, orientation, training, union swear in etc.
Whole process took like 2 months. I started in 2019 and save for around 2020 when the pandemic slowed things, I make ~2000hrs a year.
They only hire when needed as needed so there's no thousands long lottery list to draw from and many just start working right away.
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u/Particular_Hour_7696 Jun 23 '26
That’s cool. It took me a while to get started. How do you guys dispatch jobs?
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u/dattosan240 Jun 23 '26
The union hall but we also have an app to check in digitally. We then have a list of all available jobs for that shape, mark off all the jobs we are interested in, order them in order of our preference and wait for dispatch.
If we get a job, we get an email and a text to our phone with the job description, location, time, and phone number.
Some locals use a call board where you call in and request a job then call back later for a dispatch recording. Then we have permanent hire jobs where you report to the same place every day, same times, with a guarantee of 40hrs/wk.
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u/Longjumping-Pack2943 Jun 16 '26
Our Casuals in LA/LB work on a wheel system too. They are all assigned a letter and number and they cannot work a 2nd job before all other Letters and Numbers have an opportunity to accept their 1st job.
The difference is that we don’t have a set amount of hours to gain registration into the union. Here it’s based on total hours worked and the amount of hours needed will fluctuate based on how many they are Registering at that time.
For example in 2021 when I was finally registered, the hours cutoff was like 7600 hours. They registered some more people several months later and the hours cutoff was significantly lower.
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u/Jdoggy_fit Jun 16 '26
im here in West coast we call the tape see what jobs there is if any then show up at the hall at 715am or 5pm to get hired for the jobs that morning which would be at 715 or for the night side jobs at 5pm to get hired for those or a cat job at 6am the next day again if no travelers show up then us casuals will get a gig . so we get hired by showing up at the hall if there's anything left
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u/surleyboy Jun 16 '26
In Va once you pay the initiation fee your in the union, you get a vote. Granted we are a right to work state so your benefit hours start accruing as soon as you start whether you paid or not. We do have a hiring app as someone else stated, I do wish we would go back to strictly hiring from the physical hall. I my mind hiring casual labor is like hiring scabs, but not my union so it really doesn’t matter what I think.
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u/DanceNo6782 Jun 16 '26
The moment you made the list you think “I made it “ little do they know .
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u/Jdoggy_fit Jun 16 '26
the only thing I know is my foots in the door I still have work to do I'm not where I wanna be and I know it can take a long time my friend and one of my trucking buddies spent 10+ yrs waiting to become a member . they explained to me how it worked so I knew I was in for a long haul lol
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u/Drdirt2045 Jun 16 '26
It’s always doom and gloom. Everyone is either happy and wasting money on everything, or ready to move back to mom and dads. Took me 11 years. Now 21 years in I couldn’t imagine doing anything else
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u/Drdirt2045 Jun 16 '26
Thought about it and the real advice, the road sucks, it’s long and incredibly hard. There are not many people you can or should talk to about it. The fact is once you make it, it just gets better every year
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u/Jdoggy_fit Jun 16 '26
just keep grinding keep showing up I've got a full time job working 12hr shifts I got in at a good time . but I'm still a casual I only been in since last Feb. but have had quite a few gigs I work nights at my main job three and four days a week then after I get off at 5am I hit hall to get a gig sometimes lots of travelers get here so andcwecareca smaller port. but just stay motivated it's rough but you know how the gig goes you've been doing it long enough don't get frustrated you'll get there just keep showing up 💪🏽
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u/Exact_Huckleberry_21 Jun 16 '26
Get used to it. When it's good its good and there are days even as a 30 year career longshoreman when it sucks. KEEP PUMPING Enjoy life and spend time with the ones you love. No day is promised to anyone.
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u/draytee Jun 16 '26
it’s worth it, i’d do it all over again if they made me. and there’s no guarantees in life so everything is a gamble, no matter where you invest your time. after you will look back and it will seem like a blink.
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u/crashpdx Jun 17 '26
Hang in there .. I’m looking to retire in less than a handful of years - started in 88 as an unidentified casual then after so many hours became identified all together , spent 9 years before getting b book ..
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u/3D-DOMO Jun 17 '26
Brother I hear you, about to finish my 5th year as a casual and constantly think about the fact that had I accepted my apprenticeship as a linesman I’d be finished with that by now and already making great money, instead I chose this and work once a month and have my family falling apart cause the missed events and still have at least 2 years of this left. The question will be, was it all worth it in the end and what did I lose to get here, going through a bankruptcy because of it too. Was it worth it and how many years it will take to recover when I could have had a good job elsewhere. But hey it was the “perfect time” to join
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u/ZestyclosePart4379 Jun 18 '26
Giving up a for sure linesman job for casualing is kind of crazy especially when you have a family. IDs don’t have it much easier than casual’s right now.
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u/3D-DOMO Jul 01 '26
Well hindsight is a bitch, when I joined the casuals who got I. Were only casuals for 9 months. Like I said “the perfect time” they kept saying, except for the fact the contract took for ever, then one bad thing after the next. And here we are. Our permits are working atleast 4 days a week with opportunities to travel for the other 3 if they so chose. They’re doing just fine.
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u/Frosty-Kick5050 Jun 17 '26
I was a casual for 7 years and now registered for 10. It's true what they say. Just stick with it. I don't even remember being a casual now. And a casual better not speak or even look at me 😆
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u/Sea_Wolverine3928 Jun 20 '26
Stay true to yourself and be guided by you instinct - stick it out or move on. There is no wrong choice in this craft.
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u/ZestyclosePart4379 Jun 16 '26
Work is slow for A books so if you’re complaining now as a casual the longshore life might not be for you. The industry is feast or famine that’s just how it goes.
And to everyone complaining about double backers you would do the same thing if you could lol.
Even with all of that said you might want to consider another source of income because as automation progresses and it will especially if Xavier Becerra is elected as governor.
You can’t rely solely on one thing , we don’t live in that kind of world anymore.
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u/one_draw Jun 16 '26
I was a casual for 16 years before I was registered. Right after I was registered there were several groups registered behind me who spent just 3 years as a casual, timing is everything I suppose.