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The Port of Baltimore
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May/June 2014
Soundings
NEWSMAKERS
Customer Service Pledge
Renewed by Key Port Players
R
epresentatives from more than a dozen agencies and
associations signed the
Baltimore Port-Wide Customer
Service Pledge
as part of their ongoing commitment to
keep the Port of Baltimore business-friendly.
The signing occurred as part of a regular monthly Baltimore
Port Alliance (BPA) meeting.
“We, as a port, are very proud of this document, as it is a
testament of the cooperation we have in our Port in working
with all entities to get problems solved, and, even more
importantly, to continue to make progress,” said
Mary Jane
Norris
, Maryland Port Administration (MPA) Manager of Port
Operations Services. “Communication is the key.”
In the early 1990s, the Federal Agency Quality Work Group
(FAQWG) was formed to ensure that federal agency rules
and regulations are interpreted and carried out in the same
manner from port to port: Port customers should not be put at
a competitive disadvantage because of the interpretation of a
regulation, and, on the flip side, Port customers must be aware
of what the rules are.
The pledge promises that the signing agencies will not only
discuss specific issues when asked by customers, but will also
go a step beyond that and meet monthly.
In addition to
Executive Director James J. White’s
pledge
for the MPA, the document was signed by representatives from
the Association of Maryland Pilots, Baltimore Custom Brokers
& Forwarders Association, Intermodal Council Maryland Motor
Truck Association, Consumer Product Safety Commission, U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Customs & Border Protection,
Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore, U.S. Coast Guard
Sector Baltimore, Maryland Maritime Association,
Baltimore District Office/U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Health Inspection
Service, Plant Protection & Quarantine, Baltimore Maritime
Exchange and Belt’s CES.
BILL MCALLEN
IN MEMORIAM
Union Leader John
Shade Served ACD
J
ohn A. Shade
, a long-time union
leader and executive at the Port of
Baltimore, passed away on April 20
at the age of 72.
Shade was a third generation member
of the International Longshoremen’s
Association, having joined Local 829 in
Baltimore in 1960. Thirteen years later, he
moved to Local 953. Shade was elected
sergeant at arms for Local 953 in 1984
and then became
president of that
union in 1989, a
position he held for
12 years.
He eventually
became labor
coordinator for the
union, then served
as a delegate for numerous wage scale
meetings, in addition to Atlantic Coast
District (ACD) and ILA conventions.
In recent years, Shade served as a
trustee for the Pension and Benefits Fund
and Container Royalty Fund and was a
Vice President of the Baltimore District
Council. He was also Vice President and
an executive board member of the ACD
representing the Port of Baltimore.
“John was one of the most respected
union leaders of our time,” said Maryland
Port Administration Executive Director
James J. White. “He fully understood the
complexities of attracting business to the
Port of Baltimore. He worked well with
management and always had the best
interests of his membership in mind. He
will truly be missed.”
Shade’s funeral took place in South
Baltimore.
