President’s Weekly Recap

August 22, 2026

Good Morning Brothers & Sisters,

I hope everyone is off to a good start to their weekend and staying cool. If you have been working the docks this past week or are working this weekend, please remember to stay hydrated. We will continue delivering water and hydration packets through the rest of August and will stop beginning in September. We will assess the weekly temperatures moving forward and determine hydration distribution from there.

Our initial plan was to provide extra hydration supplies through the two hottest months of the summer, and we have done just that. Again, a huge shoutout to Executive Board Officer Brother Doug Baggett and all of our Ship Foremen who have continued to distribute the supplies and look out for our membership.

Before we get into the operational, volume and production information, I have a few housekeeping items.

Please continue to utilize the VCC trainers. My Team and I cannot stress enough how important it is to take advantage of these trainers to further your education and knowledge of the VCC operation. MIS will visit town at the start of September to train all dispatchers, and all officers will complete MIS dispatch training. Please continue to practice your Queue Up times and report any issues you may have so we can make sure we have a smooth transition.

To all field clerks, there have been several complaints from management and to the Executive Board about field clerks cutting out 30 – 45 minutes before the meal break and causing operational standby. We cannot have this. These hours are some of the most important hours of the operation, and as you will see later in this report, improving these hours can have a major impact on our overall production.

It has also been reported to me that during these delays, the VCC clerk or Zone SCWC has simply been having the MTY handler operator attach the boxes. This is absolutely unacceptable. Attaching MTYs is clerical work; as terminal technology grows, we must protect jurisdiction and prevent GPA from handling our tasks.

I also want to remind all field clerks that you are only to verify that reefers are unplugged. Please do not physically unplug reefers. It is not our jurisdiction to do so, and we recently had a high-value reefer unplugged by a field clerk that caused an alarm to sound and required the reefer to be plugged back in. Please make sure everyone understands this going forward.

To all VCC Kitchen Clerks, management has also reported to the Executive Board that some employees are leaving early before the meal break or before the all clear on a “to finish” shift, completely disengaging and again causing operational standby time. We cannot have this either. Every minute matters, and these working hours are some of the most crucial hours of the operation when it comes to improving our move count per hour.

Hiring Process

All sponsor and public applications have now been processed. We ended up right around 500 applicants between the two groups. The List Monitor will have a final hard number next week as she finishes wrapping up all of the folders.

That number could ultimately be lower, as there are still two additional steps that must be completed before anyone gets called for work: the proficiency test and the actual training.

Overall, I believe this hiring process has gone very smoothly. With a few tweaks here and there, I believe we have developed an excellent way to provide qualified extra labor through the Hall in the future.

By-Law Amendments

All of the amended and additional By-Laws have officially been approved by International President Harold Daggett.

To everyone who showed up last Wednesday and participated in Union business, thank you. Your participation is important, and I appreciate everyone who took the time to be there.

Our Recording Secretary will post the International’s letter of approval on the website early next week.

Gate Agreement Negotiations

New gate agreement negotiations continue this week on Thursday. I will continue to keep everyone updated as more information becomes available.  Trouble Phone Resolution Desk and Additional Inventory Clerks are at the forefront of these negotiations.

Facial Recognition / Terminal Access

I also want to remind everyone about the new facial recognition system that we are implementing throughout the terminal.

Facial recognition is already active at the Gate 8 turnstile, and members who have not yet enrolled should make arrangements to do so. The GPA Credentialing Office handles enrollment from Monday through Saturday. GPA has also been working on bringing the mobile credentialing unit out to help register employees who need access to areas such as the Gate 4 kitchen and Rae’s Hall.

The process is very quick, generally taking around 90 seconds, and once enrolled, the system provides frictionless access without having to use a hand scan or physically scan your TWIC at the turnstile. The system generally grants access in less than a second.

You must have a current, active TWIC to enroll. Please do not wait until the last minute. Starting September 10, employees not enrolled in the system will lose facial-recognition access and must be buzzed in.

About half of the workforce has already completed enrollment, so if you have not done yours yet, please take care of it.

Volume and Vessel Forecast Outlook

The current forecast shows:

  • Week of 8/24: 38 vessel calls — 64,762 lifts
  • Week of 8/31: 45 vessel calls — 70,562 lifts
  • Week of 9/07: 38 vessel calls — 70,228 lifts
  • Week of 9/14: 54 vessel calls — 92,250 lifts

The chart above continues to show strong volume out there for us.

A couple of large items really jump out to me. We have consistently seen the forecasted vessel total running well above the standard weekly average, and I believe that is a very positive trend.

In this industry, delays always occur, missed sailings, berth space shortages, or slow steaming to save fuel costs. Because we average around 32 – 34 calls per week, seeing 38 calls and above tells me that we have vessels coming, and we should not see a downturn in vessel frequency.

Volume itself doesn’t always correlate to that same cadence. The current forecast is showing 800+ imports per vessel call, with some weeks reaching 900+ imports per vessel call. That is very positive and is in line with the volume trend we are currently seeing. Earlier in the year, we were seeing those same levels in the mid-600s.

With all these vessel calls, as always, we have to get these ships on and off the dock. Prepare for high gang count days and ongoing pushes to secure early sailing windows. The river has not gotten any deeper or wider, so the pressure will continue to be on all of us to properly plan and execute.

I also want to point out that we have seen approximately 25–30% of our weekly volume fall between Friday and Sunday. That means our ability to fill gangs on the weekends is going to be critical if we want to maintain vessel fluidity.

Production

I want to switch gears now and talk about production.

The production numbers continue to show us that the hours immediately before a break, immediately after a break, and the final hour of the operation have a major effect on our overall productivity.

We need to turn this trend around.  See chart below.

If we can improve those hours by just 2.5 moves per hour on each end of the break and during the final hour, we could potentially see a 0.75 – 1.0 MPH increase in overall production.

That is something we can correct. It does not require new equipment or some major operational change. It requires dedication, communication and discipline from all of us.

Weather has hurt us significantly over the past several weeks. We have lost approximately 300 hours in July and another 250 hours in August to date because of weather.

July finished at approximately 274,211 lifts at 28.3 gross MPH, while August is currently at 147,369 lifts at 26.96 gross MPH, with the most recent days improving that number to approximately 27.2 gross MPH.

We have clearly raised the floor and are consistently operating around the 29 MPH range during better conditions. Now we need to push that floor toward 30.

The easiest place to start is with our breaks.

Getting back to work timely after the all clear is one of the simplest things we can control. We also need to continue keeping up with the work on deck. We have lost valuable time at the ends of vessels returning to completed bays to correct lashing issues, shoes, or mis stowed units.

Self inflicted issues quietly kill production.

If we can eliminate some of these unforced issues, I believe we could see the final few months of this year really explode in productivity.

Safety

Safety continues to be our number one priority.

A few items discussed this week include:

  • Continue addressing housekeeping from all angles to reduce injuries and lost time.
  • Provide heavier crane hammers for handling stuck twist locks.
  • Continue promoting “See Something, Say Something” and maintaining situational awareness.
  • Equipment parking locations have been confirmed:
    • Gondolas: CB1 fence line, 601 high end and 801 high end
    • STINIS gear: CB1 fence line, 601 high end and 801 high end
    • MAFIs: 601 high end
  • Speakers have been added to the Perry Weather system to improve communication.

Please continue to look out for one another. If you see something that doesn’t look right, say something.

Gate Operations

Gate volume exceeded 15,000 moves four times during the past month.

Overall gate volume is beginning to slow, but the continued vessel volume should keep pressure on the operation moving forward.

Cycle Operations

Cycle performance continues to improve.

Current cycle performance is approximately 35.9 gross MPH, representing roughly 8% of total throughput.

July saw 25,558 moves across 276 cycles, averaging 34.9 gross MPH and representing approximately 9% of throughput.

Current average cycle performance is:

  • One-lane cycles: 31.9 MPH
  • Two-lane cycles: 39.0 MPH

Two-lane cycle performance improved by approximately 0.5 MPH compared with the previous month.

In July, there were 88 two-lane cycles averaging 40.3 MPH. August currently has 43 two-lane cycles averaging 38.5 MPH.

One interesting point is that cycle size does not appear to negatively affect performance. Smaller cycles with fewer than 50 moves continue to perform well when operated as two-lane cycles.

On the AIN SNAN, 3.8% of the vessel’s cargo was completed through two-lane cycles.

The night shift is also doing a good job splitting cycle load-back trucks, including between the two yards, because there are fewer over-the-road trucks present.

TICO Dispatch

Comeback performance has recently fallen below 26 MPH. August’s overall performance is currently approximately 26.02 MPH, with weather continuing to be a major factor.

TICO dispatch accuracy is leveling out across all start times.

  • Fresh starts: 97% dispatch accuracy / 21.14 MPH
  • Comebacks: 98% dispatch accuracy / 23.70 MPH

Weather standby continues to challenge the 1900 shift.

The late-driver percentage has improved to approximately 27 – 30%, which has been attributed to increased header and management presence in the TICO yards.

When a load move appears on the screen, drivers should proceed from the yard directly to the assigned stack and not go to the vessel first.

Vessel and Operational Improvement Areas

There were 27 vessel failures last month, primarily involving missing twist locks or containers not being properly seated.

Two-person crews are expected to remain on the vessel while working on deck. AOMs should contact headers or walking bosses when necessary.

Deck personnel must also make sure containers are loaded into the correct slots. Incorrect placement has caused significant operational delays.

Chairs are not permitted on the ship’s deck.

Containers should not be sent to the TICO yard for any reason.

During weather standby:

  • Drivers should remain inside their trucks.
  • Trucks should remain in the lead.
  • We need to determine whether import containers can be moved to the yard during standby.
  • Yard-specific export locations need to be established where trucks can unload.

We are also seeing instances where RTGs are absent from assigned discharge bays before meal breaks, leaving trucks waiting. We need to continue following up on maintaining QC-specific discharge operations during meal breaks.

Dock personnel and Kitchen Clerks also need to communicate when the final import truck is being sent to the field so equipment operators know to remain available.

Communication throughout the operation is critical. Dock personnel are expected to communicate effectively with everyone involved.

Headers should not release drivers early for meal breaks. Headers should be in the lead 30 minutes before the scheduled break.

All shift-start paperwork should also be distributed upstairs as a single package rather than being divided between Locals 1414 and 1475.

GPA RTGs are also using a new discharge process that briefly raises containers a few inches before completing the move. We will continue seeking additional information from GPA.

Closing

Brothers & Sisters,

I know this week’s recap was a long one, but it was a busy week with a lot of information coming in from all directions.

The biggest thing I want everyone to take away from this week’s report is that Savannah is busy, and the forecast shows that we should remain busy. That is a good thing for our Local and, more importantly, it creates opportunities for our members to finish the year strong.

But volume alone doesn’t guarantee a good operation. We have to execute. We have to show up, work safely, communicate with each other and protect our jurisdiction.

The small things matter, getting back from breaks on time, staying engaged until the job is complete, properly securing and positioning equipment, communicating between departments and eliminating the self-inflicted production losses.

If we can clean up those areas, I truly believe we can make a major impact on our production numbers.

As always, this is our Port together. Together we can make it great, but we all have to do our part every single day.

To everyone who worked all week and is starting your weekend, enjoy it. Spend some time with your family, because after all, they are the reason you grind it out all week in the first place.

And to all of our “weekend warriors,” I salute you. This workforce has continued to impress me with the job coverage we have been able to provide week after week.

Let’s keep it going.

Thank you to each and every one of you. Stay safe out there on the docks this weekend.

ONE TEAM. ONE PURPOSE.

ILA ALL THE WAY.

“Your work matters.  Your life matters.  Your future matters. ILA men and women build more than cargo – We build America.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

“There’s no nice way to say it: automation means the elimination of your jobs forever. When a company says they want to automate to improve their competitiveness or to enhance safety… they have one goal in mind: to eliminate your job and put more money in their pockets.” – International President Harold Daggett

“You don’t run from hard in life.  If you run from hard in life, you’ll find more hard.” – UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart

In Solidarity,
Josh & Team