FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Contact: Newark Press Information Office; Press Secretary: Marjorie Harris; 973-733-8004; PressOffice@ci.newark.nj.us

MAYOR BARAKA DENOUNCES HIRING DISCRIMINATION AT PORT NEWARK AND ELIZABETH

Will lead second march for job later this month

Newark, NJ –- July 8, 2016 — Citing a “provocative and discriminatory” Facebook message as an example of “deeply ingrained racism’ in Port Newark and Elizabeth’s International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) locals,  Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced today that he will be holding a march and rally for jobs at Port Newark & Elizabeth on Monday, July 18. Assembly for the motorcade to the rally will begin at City Hall, 920 Broad Street, Newark at 10 a..m.

The Facebook message from an ILA employee was sent to a Newark City Administrative Assistant in response to her Facebook posting of a flyer inviting participation in the march. This is the message she received:

Port message

“This Facebook message is an example of the deep seated culture of racism and discrimination in ILA Locals 1 and 1804. The New Jersey AFL-CIO should demand that the employee who sent that message be removed from his position in the union,” said Mayor Baraka.

“On May 2nd, hundreds of Newark residents marched to end hiring discrimination. We blocked trucks and shut down the Port for an hour. We will be back on July 18th and will return again and again with the message that the Port will not be able to operate as long as racial, gender and ethnic inequality in employment and discrimination against the hiring of Newark residents is allowed to continue,” he added.

Port jobs have an enormous potential to boost the economies of Newark and Elizabeth, two cities struggling with high unemployment and underemployment. Port jobs can be an important source of well-paying middle class jobs. Yet, those hired to work at the Port are not representative of the diversity of the surrounding community.

International Longshoremen’s Locals 1 and 1804-1 both have fewer than 6% Black members and under 13% Hispanic members. Local 1233 has close to 600 active registrants and less than 1% Black. Local 1804-1 has over 1300 members and only 40 are Black and none are women. The Port is located in one of the nation’s most diverse communities. Newark and Elizabeth have a combined Black and Latino population of 77%. The two locals remain segregated despite years of attempts by the Waterfront Commission, civil rights organizations and the City of Newark to desegregate the Port,” he added.

A 2015 report stated that of the 3,299 registered longshore workers at the Port, only 299 (6.3%) had Newark addresses and that of the 3,299 workers, 2,055 are white, 787 Black, 410 Hispanic, 17 Asian and 30 others. Only 302 were women.

-NEWARK-

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit : www.ci.newark.nj.us

To visit the City of Newark’s official photo galleries: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newarkpressoffice/sets

Flyer posted on Facebook follows containing details of the march:


Port Flyer

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