Port Canaveral cruise workers rally for return to work
Longshoreman Richard Ross chanted through his megaphone Wednesday in front of Cruise Terminal 1 at Port Canaveral, pacing in front of more than 60 other cruise line industry workers.
Ross, the president of the Port Canaveral and Fort Pierce chapter of the International Longshoremen’s Association, joined his furloughed colleagues in calling for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to extend its no-sail order, which expires Oct. 31.
Rallies at Port Miami, Port Everglades and Port of Galveston in Texas happened simultaneously.
Masked workers held signs reading, “Hail to the sail," “Cruise lines are life lines,” and, “Cruises let us feed our family some lettuce."
“We’re not disregarding coronavirus. We know it’s real,” Ross said. “We’re saying that we can do it safely.”
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian’s “Healthy Sail Panel” released last month a report with 74 recommendations on how to return to the waters while adhering to CDC guidelines, including a requirement that all passengers test negative for COVID-19 within five days of departure. Passengers would also be screened for symptoms, wear face masks and social distance.
The cruise industry has been in limbo since March 14, when the CDC enacted an order that suspended travel to prevent COVID-19 transmission on cruise ships. The order has been extended three times since March.
According to reports by The New York Times and Axios, CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield had recommended extending the order until mid-February, but was overruled by the White House, a move public health officials reportedly fear is politically motivated, due to the industry’s political and economic might in Florida, a key swing state.
Longshoreman Shaquille Mackey, 27, said he has been furloughed on-and-off ever since, sometimes only working a couple days a month.
“There’s been months where I haven’t worked at all,” he said. “Only thing we’re doing now is just getting unemployment, and that’s not enough.”
Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said it would take 45 to 60 days to get ships sailing again once the order expires.
“The cruise industry is not going to come rolling back the way it shut off," he said. "It’s going to come back slowly.”
Prior to the pandemic, Florida’s cruise industry provided $7.7 billion in annual wages, according to Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group.
“Florida remains the center of cruising in the U.S., accounting for over 59 percent of all U.S. embarkations,” a 2018 CLIA economic report reads.
In the CDC’s original order, the federal agency noted that cruise ships can carry up to at least 4,000 passengers and crew, who are subject to closed and semi-closed settings while sailing.
Cruise ships were the sites of some of the earliest coronavirus horror stories as the pandemic spread across the globe, with some becoming hot spots for major viral outbreaks in the spring.
In some instances, government leaders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, resisted allowing ships to dock and offload sick passengers, for fear of overtaxing local health systems. Thousands of crew members have been forced to remain on ships for months.
lruiz@orlandosentinel.com
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