They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, taking only four holidays a year. Theirs is the on-the-ground know-how and muscle that last year moved 3.66 million container units, wrestled with nearly three million tons of unwieldy break-bulk cargo and drove thousands of auto and machinery units on to or off of cavernous carriers.
Without them, Georgia's busy ports would come to a standstill.
They are the men - and women - of the International Longshoremen's Association locals. On the eve of Labor Day - one of their four holidays - we take a closer look at who they are and what they do.
Debunking the myths
Tommy Stokes is president of ILA Deep Sea Local 1414, by far the largest local on the docks.
"We have about 1,500 people on our roster, with 1,000 to 1,200 considered regulars," he said. "Just in the year and a half that I've been president, we've hired 230 people - that's how much this port is growing."
Stokes' local is perhaps the most physical, with members employed by area stevedoring companies to load and unload ships.
"People think we pay our members, but they are actually paid by the stevedoring companies that represent the shippers," he said. "We work for them."
Each stevedoring company has foremen, selected from the most experienced and senior longshoremen, who work primarily on that company's cargo, Stokes said. Those foremen, in turn, select the longshoremen who will make up their crews for each ship, again based on seniority.
"People also tend to think everything on the docks is automated, but that's far from the truth," he said.
There is still a lot of manual labor involved, he said, from manhandling bulky rolls of paper, steel coils or lumber deep in the belly of the ship to making sure the "locking shoes" on each corner of a container are properly secured and lashing rods are threaded on the outside of containers stacked on deck.
"It's these things that people don't see that still require manpower - and a lot of it can be backbreaking and dangerous," Stokes said.
"That's why we put such an emphasis on training."
Any ILA member who operates any type of power equipment - be it a truck or forklift - on the port must be certified, which requires satisfactory completion of a six-week training course in Power Industrial Transportation, Stokes said.
Additionally, the local conducts simulated training in the parking lot of the union hall, teaching the proper ways to lock down containers.
"That's a periodic requirement for all but the most experienced people who do it almost every day," he said.
Moving at the speed of commerce
Addressing port customers' need to move cargo in and out in the fastest and most efficient manner possible often falls to ILA Clerks and Checkers Local 1475.
"We are at the gates and on the docks, verifying that the right cargo is going in and coming off, checking for damages and maintaining communication," said Ricky Deloach, president of the 800-plus local that works 320 regulars and another 500 extra members on a rotating basis.
"For the most part, our work is more clerical than manual, but we are out there on our feet all day long and it never slows down."
The streamlined system of moving trucks in, checking and directing their cargo and sending them back out with another load or empties is a constant dance - one performed almost seamlessly by the local.
Serving the longest continuous container terminal in the country, Gate 4 starts with six lanes where trucks stop and are checked in electronically with a special camera confirming truck, chassis and load.
The trucks then fan out into one of 13 pre-check lanes with scales, where they interact with gate operations. Once everything is squared away, the trucks proceed through one of 19 gates to their destinations. The 19 gates are composed of seven inbound lanes, seven outbound lanes and five middle lanes that are interchangeable according to traffic streams - more inbound during morning hours, more outbound later in the day.
To get a sense of the magnitude of this dance, consider that a busy day can mean as many as 9,000 containers coming through the gates.
Keeping it running
With all the heavy equipment needed to run the ports - from the flatbed chassis that transport the containers to specially equipped refrigerated containers - it's essential that everything is maintained in top working order. That's the responsibility of the 400 members of the ILA Maintenance and Repair Local 2046.
"Of those 400, I'd say about 375 are full time," said Kerry Scott, who has been president of 2046 since it obtained its charter in 1985.
"We are responsible for the maintenance of containers - both dry and refrigerated - and the chassis that carry them," he said.
Local 2046 members - mechanics, skilled maintenance workers and refrigeration technicians - can be found all over the port's container yards and docks as well as in specially designated off-port maintenance and repair areas.
Like Local 1414, most of this local's work is physically demanding.
"We work inside containers where it can easily get to 120 degrees," Scott said. "We do a lot of welding, a lot of crawling under chassis to inspect brakes.
"We pull bad tires on their rims and send them out to be replaced, then put the rims back on when they're returned with new tires. We inspect every chassis that comes into the port. It's physically exhausting and requires a lot of stamina."
It also requires specific skills.
"We won't even consider someone unless they have passed the welding tests at Savannah Tech," Scott said. "We work closely with Savannah Tech to conduct ongoing training and we also rely on them to provide trained and certified refrigeration technicians."
Why it works
All three local presidents agreed that two things in particular set Georgia's ports apart from their competition - an unrelenting emphasis on training and the level of cooperation between labor and management.
"We are very serious about training," Stokes said. "This can be a dangerous job. It's important that everyone out here have the skills he or she needs to do the job safely. Otherwise, they are putting not only themselves but their coworkers in jeopardy.
"When we bring a new person on, we train, train, train before they are allowed to even look hard at a ship."
Scott, who was recently elected to the ILA's 23-member International Executive Council, said he will continue to stress workforce training in his national position.
"I believe in a great trained work force and continued training," he said. "Local 2046 started maintenance and repair training several years ago, and we have been very successful."
The other, more intangible advantage Georgia's ports enjoy is an almost unheard-of relationship between the ILA and port management.
"It's definitely a 'we' mentality, not a 'us and them' way of thinking," Deloach said, adding that he credits GPA executive director Curtis Foltz with establishing open communication and a sense of mutual respect.
"We - both labor and management - are very customer-oriented," he said. "We talk on a regular basis and work together to resolve any issues before they become problems.
"It's rare and something that doesn't go unnoticed," he said. "On a national level, the ILA uses Savannah as a model for how labor and management can work together for the success of the port. And customers, too, appreciate the fact that we work well together."
Foltz agreed.
"I've been on the waterfront side of the transportation industry for more than 30 years, and I have to say there's not a better example of management and labor working hand-in-hand than right here in Savannah," he said.
"We both understand that it's all about the customer, and we know customers have choices about where they bring their cargo. We all know that keeping the customer happy goes directly to our quality of life."
There is a mutual respect borne out of that understanding, he said.
"We at the Georgia Ports Authority know that without the ILA, we have nothing to offer our customers.
"But it goes so much deeper than that. There is a trust and integrity that bonds us and a pride in making this the very best port in the country."
