Logistec and ILA representatives urge local hiring, cite compliance with port tariff

At the Aug. 28 meeting a representative of Logistec and a business agent for International Longshoremen’s Association Local 2047 addressed the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District during the public comment portion of the agenda to emphasize local hiring and to describe compliance with port licensing rules. Jennifer Maddox, who identified herself as a Logistec employee and a City of Lake Charles resident, told the board Logistec has operated at the port since February 2011, works at approximately 90 marine terminals in the U.S. and Canada, and employs 15 full-time local staff in Calcasieu Parish. She said Logistec is in compliance with Port of Lake Charles licensing requirements, citing “tariff item 380-c number 17,” which she read as requiring a stevedore company that receives a permit to maintain a local office within 15 miles of City Docks that is staffed full time. Maddox said Logistec owns its equipment and employs full-time mechanics and maintenance staff, that the company holds extended contracts with major lumber customers, and that since Jan. 1, 2025, only 2.7% of Logistec’s labor hours came from out-of-town union workers. She also said the company had recorded 776 days without a lost-time injury. Maddox urged the port to continue prioritizing local union labor when licensing stevedores. Michael Brown, identified as business agent for Local 2047, told the board the local union has skilled workers available and asked the board to give the ILA an opportunity to compete for work, saying “we're not saying we want everything. Just give us a little small piece of the pie.” Why it matters: Stevedore licensing and the supply of local longshore labor affect port operations, local employment and where wages are spent. Maddox and Brown emphasized local hiring and safety records as reasons for the board to prefer or require local labor when issuing stevedore licenses or awarding business. Details and limitations: Maddox cited tariff items by number but did not read full tariff language into the record; the transcript reflects her summary and claims about staffing, hours and safety metrics. The board did not take immediate action in response to the comments; no licensing decisions were made in the meeting’s record on Aug. 28.