Between Dec. 29 and Jan. 14, Mark Bass, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1410 in Mobile, Alabama, watched as COVID-19 cases swept through the maritime workforce, ultimately infecting about 20 percent of it.
With workers packed in tight quarters, loading and unloading ships and often interacting with seamen coming in from different countries, infection was unavoidable. “There are just some jobs where you can’t stay 6 feet apart,” he said.
And getting workers’ compensation for missing shifts because of the disease wasn’t easy. They and other workers had to prove they contracted the illness while on the job.
