could stop. Neither could turn away, except to a small degree. "I could turn just enough to the left," said Capt. Glen Miller, who was steering the Susan, "and the Catherine could turn just enough to the right" with Capt. John Catamora at the helm. "It acted like a lot of sailboats do � unpredictably." The sailboat rocked quite a bit, but owing to the skillful handling of the tugs, never came close to capsizing. While staging the tug festivities before an appreciative public, the harbor was thinking about a labor dispute � a strike by the Union against a small tugboat company. It was the first such action in 20 years. To most observers not directly involved, the situation had the piquance of a battle between brothers. Precipitating the dispute was an issue everyone takes seriously: safety. The principle is wellunderstood by the struck company, K-Tugs, a three-boat operation run by members of the Kosnac family. The third generation is now in charge, their grandfather having founded the company in the late 1920s. "Kosnac demanded to run its 24-hour boat with only four men instead of five," protested a notice to members issued by Local 333 President, Bill Harrigan. "The engineer would be used as a deckhand and engineer, otherwise
known as a deckineer. Agreeing to such a reduction in staffing jeopardizes the established staffing levels at all other carriers." The notice asserted that the personnel cuts violate voluntary guidelines established by the AWO. Also among the Union's objections, "Kosnac demanded that workers use their grub money to buy boat supplies and the grub would be purchased before crew change, meaning it's on your time." Said Veronica Kosnac-Raffone in a letter to employees, "we are not proposing that you shop for grub on your own time... We are asking that during your paid time, but before the designated time for crew change, you shop for grub." Regarding the larger issue of manning, a Kosnac press release cited Union contracts with two other companies with provisions similar to those sought in their new oneyear contract. "Kosnac was required to man its vessels with more crew than its competitors," stated the release, "and more than required by the Coast Guard making it impossible for it to competitively bid for certain types of work. Kosnac has increasingly lost market share to non-union companies ...." At the end of September, Bill Harrigan said that one of the two contracts cited by Kosnac is being improved by
McAllister's Capts. Brian Fournier and Captain Kirk Watts heft the industrial-strength trophy to which the Ellen McAllister's name will be added. Capt. Fournier also holds the trophy for best-looking tug, while Captain Watts holds his award for best tattoo.
60 MN
October 2009