May 1, 2008: Last year it looked like Teamster members on the Brooklyn waterfront would lose their jobs. The mayor of New York had big plans to replace the Brooklyn port terminal with a luxury development.

Now members of Teamsters Local 805 have won their fight to save good union jobs on the waterfront.

Local 805 represents warehouse workers at the Brooklyn cargo port, which handles shipments of lumber, steel, and cocoa bound for New York City and Long Island. The International Longshoremen’s Association also represents hundreds of stevedores who will keep their jobs too.

For the last two years, city officials have been trying to tear down the port and replace it with a cruise ship terminal, a hotel, a beer garden, and luxury housing.

But Local 805 joined with elected officials and members of the Brooklyn community and mounted a grassroots campaign to protect good union jobs with benefits.

In April, the city reversed course and agreed to a deal that will keep the port running for at least ten years.

“There are hundreds of workers who can celebrate today because their jobs are safe at the Brooklyn port,” said Sandy Pope, President of Local 805. “These well-paying blue-collar jobs are exactly the kind we need for the working families of this city.”