November 17, 2007 ILWU, port leaders team up for L.A. Boys and Girls Club By Kristopher Hanson Long Beach Press Telegram     SAN PEDRO - Arch-enemies, uneasy partners or best buds?     Depending on the day and circumstance, the relationship between local dockworkers and marine terminal operators can be any one.     On Friday, however, differences were set aside as the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union joined hands to raise nearly $150,000 for local youth.     The annual event, which benefits the 1,500-member Port of Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club, will help fund free arts, music, educational and sports programs.     The money will also subsidize annual membership fees.     Dave Serrato, a longshoreman who grew up in San Pedro housing projects and helped organize the event, said the goal is to aid at-risk kids living in the shadow of the nation's most profitable seaport.     "The way you get out of the projects is through education, and this club is offering these kids a shot at education and knowledge," said Serrato, who works through the ILWU Local 13 hall. "I made it out, and I can relate to that, so this is our chance to give back."     The club on West Fifth Avenue, which serves youth in San Pedro, Wilmington and Harbor City, is located near a 600-unit public housing project and several public schools.     The union and PMA, which represents all major marine terminal operators on the West Coast, pledged nearly $80,000 for the club Friday, with local shipping companies, utilities and and port agencies donating the rest.     Jeff Carr, who heads Los Angeles' anti-gang programs, praised the two sides for the effort.     "Boys and Girls Clubs and places like it in our cities are safe havens and need to be preserved and strengthened," Carr said.     The ILWU represents nearly 20,000 full and part-time dockworkers, port pilots, clerks and others in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.     The event was a rare show of unity between the ILWU and the PMA.     The two sides have clashed over working conditions and wages for years, including during the 2002 10-day labor lockout at West Coast seaports, which authorities estimate cost the national economy $1 billion per day.     But any animosities were forgotten Friday.     Copyright 2007 Long Beach Press-Telegram

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