Addiction Treatment for ILWU Union Members

ILWU union members have access to fully covered addiction treatment through the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan’s Alcoholism/Drug Recovery Program (ADRP). Your weekly indemnity benefits continue during approved residential care so you lose no income while in treatment. Your job is protected. Your benefits stay active. Your employer is not notified.

Longshore work creates a specific combination of physical injury, shift-based stress, and occupational culture that drives rates of alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder well above national averages. Your union recognized this decades ago and built a recovery program around it.

New Spirit Recovery, serving every longshoreman and union member across the LA/Long Beach port workforce, is located in Encino, California accepts Blue Shield of California PPO, the primary carrier under the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan Coastwise Indemnity Plan. The facility provides medically supervised detox, residential treatment, dual diagnosis care, and medication-assisted treatment for ILWU members across CA, OR, and WA.

Why Longshore Work Puts You at High Risk for Addiction

Longshore work generates more concentrated addiction risk than almost any other occupation. Physical injury, rotating shifts, and port community stigma combine to drive substance use disorder rates well above national averages. Your union built a recovery program specifically because of this reality.

The Injury-to-Opioid Pipeline

The path from longshore work to opioid use disorder follows a direct clinical sequence:

• Operating cranes, forklifts, and container handlers across 24-hour rotating shifts at ports like LA/Long Beach (Local 13), Oakland (Local 10), and Seattle-Tacoma (Local 19) generates biomechanical stress that accumulates as cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) in the lumbar spine, shoulders, knees, and wrists. Most longshoremen do not report early-stage injuries because dispatch priority depends on showing up.
• When injuries reach the treatment threshold, physicians prescribe mu-opioid receptor agonists, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine. Repeated receptor binding downregulates endogenous opioid production within days, initiating physiological dependence before the prescription runs out.
• Research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that workers sustaining lost-time occupational injuries face 2.91 times the hazard of opioid-related morbidity, including dependence and overdose, compared to uninjured coworkers in the same setting.
• When prescriptions are discontinued or supply becomes unreliable, the resulting withdrawal syndrome produces severe physical distress that drives drug-seeking as a physiological need. Fentanyl and heroin use in injured workers most commonly represents an unmanaged opioid use disorder, not an independent drug preference.

Shift Work and the Neurobiology of Substance Use

The dispatch-hall shift structure actively damages the brain systems that regulate substance use risk:

• Rotating day, swing, and early-morning shifts destabilize circadian rhythm and dysregulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Elevated cortisol output primes the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway for substance use as a stress-coping mechanism.
• Allostatic load, the cumulative physiological cost of sustained occupational stress, accumulates faster in high-consequence shift environments like active port terminals. It erodes the neurobiological capacity that supports controlled use and early pattern recognition.
• Sleep-deprived workers demonstrate reduced prefrontal cortical activity and heightened amygdala reactivity. These neurological changes lower the threshold for alcohol or opioid initiation and impair the executive function needed to recognize escalating use before it becomes a disorder.
• The dispatch-hall call system creates financial unpredictability on top of physical stress. Work availability depends on registration status and accumulated hours, generating the underlying economic anxiety that compounds other occupational risk factors.

Why ILWU Members Wait Too Long to Get Help

Port community norms delay treatment-seeking in ways that allow substance use disorders to reach severe stages before anyone intervenes:

• In tight-knit port communities where dispatch rosters, hall politics, and seniority structures are deeply intertwined, any health disclosure carries perceived professional consequences. You protect your registration before your health. That calculation costs people their lives.
• Masculine occupational norms frame pain tolerance as a marker of professional competence. Seeking treatment reads as weakness. That framing is wrong, and it kills people. Your union knows it, which is why the ADRP exists.
• Fear of losing your dispatch priority, registration status, or the social capital you built through years of hall membership delays disclosure well past the point where early intervention works.
• The ILWU itself has publicly acknowledged that the industry presents unique mental health challenges and that members historically hesitate to seek help without guaranteed confidentiality. That confidentiality guarantee exists. Your ADRP representative cannot tell your employer, your dispatcher, or the PMA.

The Addiction Risks Specific to Your Occupation

Your occupation generates specific patterns of alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, and co-occurring mental health conditions. Understanding these patterns is what separates effective treatment for longshore workers from generic rehab.

Why Alcohol Use Disorder Is Widespread Among Port Workers

Alcohol use disorder develops in longshore populations through converging occupational, social, and neurobiological pathways:

• A NIOSH-funded study analyzing BRFSS surveillance data from 2014 to 2018 across 38 states found that maritime workers demonstrate binge drinking rates approximately 28% higher than the general workforce. The pattern is consistent across port-based occupational subgroups, including longshoremen, marine clerks, and walking bosses.
• Long-term excessive alcohol consumption progressively downregulates GABA-A receptor sensitivity, reducing the brain’s natural inhibitory capacity. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome upon cessation produces symptoms ranging from anxiety, diaphoresis, and tremors to generalized tonic-clonic seizures in severe cases.
• A longshoreman can maintain full shift attendance while meeting five or more DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AUD, masking the disorder for years. You can maintain shift attendance while meeting five or more DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AUD, delaying formal assessment by years.
• Stopping alcohol without medical supervision once physiological dependence is established carries documented life-threatening seizure risk. Medical detoxification under the CIWA-Ar (Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol) protocol provides calibrated pharmacological management that directly reduces the risk.

How a Work Injury Turns Into Opioid Use Disorder

Opioid use disorder follows a documented neurobiological trajectory from injury-related pain management to full physiological dependence:

• Occupational injuries triggering prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone, or morphine initiate neuroadaptation within days. Repeated mu-opioid receptor binding downregulates endogenous opioid production and desensitizes the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway progressively.
• When prescribed opioids are discontinued, dose-reduced, or supply becomes unreliable, COWS (Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale)-measurable symptoms produce severe physical distress that drives active drug-seeking as a physiological imperative rather than a behavioral choice.
• Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with buprenorphine, naltrexone, or methadone directly addresses mu-opioid receptor dysregulation. It reduces withdrawal severity, attenuates craving responses, and stabilizes occupational function so you can return to active dispatch.
• For members whose opioid use disorder developed from injury pain management, treatment must also address the underlying musculoskeletal pain. Substituting non-opioid analgesic strategies and somatic therapies for the injury-related pain that buprenorphine does not directly resolve is a distinct clinical requirement.

The PTSD and Depression Connection Longshore Workers Face

Longshore work generates enough trauma exposure to produce co-occurring psychiatric disorders in a clinically significant proportion of the workforce:

• Witnessing or surviving fatal equipment accidents, crush injuries, and drowning events at port facilities generates acute stress reactions that progress to PTSD when the trauma is not processed within a clinical framework.
• PTSD’s hypervigilance symptom cluster activates the noradrenergic system and produces sustained physiological arousal that alcohol and opioids temporarily suppress. This establishes the neurobiological reinforcement cycle that makes PTSD and substance use disorder so difficult to separate in longshore workers.
• Major depressive disorder co-occurs with opioid use disorder in approximately one-third of patients. Dopaminergic dysregulation from chronic opioid use depletes the reward signal processing required for motivation, occupational engagement, and emotional regulation.
• Treating substance use disorder without concurrently addressing co-occurring PTSD or major depressive disorder produces significantly higher relapse rates. Integrated dual diagnosis treatment is the evidence-based standard for ILWU members with complex presentations. New Spirit Recovery’s veterans program extends specialist trauma care to members with military backgrounds. Green Beret therapists provide additional weekly sessions tailored to military trauma, PTSD triggers, and veteran-specific experiences that transfer directly to high-severity occupational PTSD.

Your ILWU Union Benefits Cover Full Addiction Treatment

If you are looking for ILWU drug rehab or need help understanding your ILWU insurance coverage for addiction treatment, you have more benefits than most members realize. Your union negotiated dedicated substance use disorder coverage decades before most employers acknowledged addiction as a medical condition.

What the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan Covers

The ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan provides substance use disorder treatment coverage through the Coastwise Indemnity Plan:

Coverage Component	Coastwise Indemnity Plan
Insurance carrier (California)	Blue Shield of California PPO
Insurance carrier (Oregon / Washington)	First Choice Health Network
Inpatient detox coverage	Up to 5 days under plan; extended through ADRP authorization
Outpatient SUD visits	Up to 20 visits per plan year
Mental health outpatient	Up to 50 visits per year; first 20 at 100% PPO rate in-network
Mental health support network (2025)	Lyra Health, 24/7 crisis access at (833) 597-2295
HMO alternative (CA and OR)	Kaiser Permanente

Key points for members verifying benefits:

• New Spirit Recovery accepts all standard private PPO insurance, including Blue Shield of California PPO. Before beginning treatment, confirm your specific deductible, co-insurance percentage, and pre-authorization requirements with the New Spirit insurance verification team.
• Oregon and Washington ILWU members enrolled through First Choice Health Network should confirm out-of-network benefit levels, as New Spirit Recovery’s facilities are in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in California.
• Members enrolled in Kaiser Permanente HMO should contact Kaiser directly to identify in-network residential treatment options. HMO plans require in-network utilization for full coverage.

The ADRP: Your Union’s Dedicated Recovery Program

The ADRP is not a standard EAP. It is a union-negotiated program built specifically for longshore workers, with confidentiality protections that go beyond federal law:

• The ADRP began as a trial in 1964 following arbitrator Sam Kagal’s challenge to the ILWU and PMA to address worker addiction. It was formally established in 1980 and now covers registered and casual longshoremen, marine clerks, walking bosses, foremen, watchmen, retired longshore workers, eligible survivors, and dependents (eligible since 1995).
• Your participation in the ADRP is completely confidential. ADRP representatives are prohibited from disclosing any information about your participation to employers, dispatch operations, supervisors, or the Pacific Maritime Association without your explicit written consent.
• During ADRP-approved treatment, weekly indemnity benefits continue and all Welfare Plan benefits are maintained. You sustain income and full coverage throughout your residential treatment episode.
• The ADRP supports multiple treatment episodes. If you have been through treatment before, you can access the program again. Substance use disorder is a chronic relapsing condition and the program is built around that clinical reality.
• Before beginning treatment, confirm with your regional ADRP representative that your chosen facility is eligible for ADRP authorization. This protects your benefit coverage and ensures indemnity payments continue.
• A volunteer peer recovery network operates coastwide through the ADRP. These are longshoremen who have been where you are. They work the same halls, know the same pressures, and are trained to provide support around the clock.

Regional ADRP Representatives by Port Area

Your first call is to your regional ADRP representative, not your employer or dispatch hall:

Region	Port Locals Served	Representative	Phone
Southern California	Locals 13, 63, 94, 26 (LA/Long Beach)	Tamiko Love	(310) 547-9966
Northern California	Locals 10, 34, 91 (Oakland/SF)	Hunny Powell	(415) 776-8363
Columbia River / Oregon	Locals 8, 40 (Portland)	Brian Harvey	(503) 231-4882
Puget Sound / Washington	Locals 19, 23, 52, 98 (Seattle/Tacoma)	Donnie Schwendeman	(253) 922-8913

How to engage your representative:

• LA/Long Beach members in Locals 13, 63, and 94 contact Tamiko Love at (310) 547-9966 as the first step. She coordinates treatment authorization and benefit eligibility, and the call is confidential.
• Contacting your ADRP representative does not trigger any employment process. It is a confidential first step that connects you with treatment authorization and benefit coordination.
• All ADRP representatives are independent from port employers and the PMA. They are not authorized to disclose your participation to dispatch operations, supervisors, or any union or management entity.

Your Job Is Protected: FMLA and ADA Rights

Federal law gives you meaningful protection before you pick up the phone:

• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for substance use disorder treatment. ILWU members with 12 or more months of qualifying service are covered.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) classifies alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder as disabilities. Covered port employers cannot terminate or demote you for voluntarily seeking and engaging in treatment.
• New Spirit Recovery’s clinical team prepares FMLA documentation, short-term disability paperwork, and letters of medical necessity. The team communicates directly with your legal representative when you provide a signed Release of Information.
• The ADRP authorization process coordinates directly with your job-protection timeline. You have union backing that reinforces your federal rights under FMLA and ADA. For a complete breakdown, see the guide to FMLA and medical leave for drug rehab.

How to Start Treatment as an ILWU Member

Starting treatment through your ILWU benefits follows a clear sequence. Most members complete the first two steps in a single phone call.

Steps to Begin ILWU Addiction Treatment

1. Contact your regional ADRP representative. This is your first call. Not your employer. Not your dispatcher. Your ADRP representative coordinates treatment authorization, confirms your benefit eligibility, and connects you with ADRP-approved facilities. The call is confidential and triggers no employment notification. Find your representative in the table above.
2. Verify your plan and pre-authorization requirements. Your ADRP representative or the New Spirit Recovery admissions process team verifies your Coastwise Indemnity Plan and Blue Shield of California PPO benefits in real time during your initial call. This confirms your deductible, co-insurance, and whether pre-authorization is required.
3. Complete a clinical pre-assessment. A licensed clinician conducts a substance use history review, mental health screening, and medical assessment by phone to determine the appropriate level of care. New Spirit Recovery completes this on the same day for most members.
4. Coordinate FMLA leave if needed. If treatment requires time away from work, your ADRP representative and New Spirit Recovery’s clinical team will prepare FMLA documentation concurrently with admission. No paperwork delay slows the start of care.
5. Begin treatment. Same-day admission is available at New Spirit Recovery once pre-assessment and insurance verification are complete. Transportation coordination from LAX or Burbank Airport is available for members traveling from Oregon or Washington.

Signs You or a Family Member Needs Help Now

Substance use disorders in longshore workers follow recognizable clinical patterns. You, your family, or a coworker can identify these signs before the condition reaches a crisis stage.

Early Warning Signs in Yourself or a Loved One

Early-stage substance use disorder presents as functional change before it is physically visible. Watch for these patterns:

• Using alcohol or prescription opioids specifically to manage shift fatigue, occupational pain, or the hyperarousal after a high-stakes operating shift, rather than for acute symptom relief, signals tolerance development and emerging physiological dependence.
• Increasing the quantity or frequency of substance use while believing consumption remains controlled represents the denial pattern DSM-5 identifies as one of the most consistent early markers of alcohol use disorder or opioid use disorder.
• Social withdrawal from family members, disengagement from union activities, and loss of interest in previously valued recreational activities form an early symptom cluster consistent with co-occurring major depressive disorder and emerging substance dependence.
• Missing hall calls, arriving late to board, or experiencing documented performance changes on precision equipment, such as cranes or forklifts, signal cognitive impairment from substance use that is visible to others before formal clinical assessment occurs.

Crisis-Level Signs Requiring Immediate Action

The following signs are clinical emergencies. Each requires medically supervised treatment, not willpower or a detox alone:

• Alcohol withdrawal symptoms, including tremors, diaphoresis, nausea, seizures, or visual hallucinations, within 6 to 72 hours of the last drink. This signals physiological alcohol dependence. Stopping alcohol without medical supervision at this stage carries documented life-threatening seizure risk.
• COWS-measurable opioid withdrawal symptoms, including severe restlessness, lacrimation, piloerection, abdominal cramping, and pupillary dilation, within 8 to 24 hours of last use. This requires medically supervised detox with concurrent MAT initiation.
• Recurrent suicidal ideation following work-related trauma, a near-miss incident, or the loss of a coworker. This signals the intersection of PTSD, major depressive disorder, and substance use disorder that requires residential dual diagnosis treatment, not outpatient-only intervention.
• Continued substance use despite impairment notices, union grievances, employer warnings, or loss of dispatch assignments. This represents the loss-of-control criterion in DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for moderate-to-severe substance use disorder and establishes clinical urgency for immediate treatment entry.

Long-Term Consequences Without Treatment

Untreated substance use disorders produce progressive occupational, medical, and relational deterioration that becomes harder to reverse with each stage:

• Chronic excessive alcohol intake generates hepatic steatosis progressing to alcoholic liver disease. These conditions are disproportionately prevalent in physically active working adults who do not connect progressive fatigue with cumulative alcohol-related organ damage.
• Long-term opioid use disorder managed through street-supply fentanyl or heroin carries overdose mortality risk. SAMHSA data establishes opioid overdose as the leading cause of accidental death among adults with untreated opioid use disorder in the United States.
• Dispatch priority loss, registration downgrade, and card termination become progressively more likely as untreated substance use disorder advances through moderate and severe DSM-5 diagnostic stages.
• Untreated PTSD combined with substance use disorder produces a cumulative allostatic load that accelerates cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, and metabolic syndrome. These health outcomes are independent of the direct toxic effects of alcohol or opioid exposure.

Get Treatment at New Spirit Recovery: Covered by Your ILWU Benefits

New Spirit Recovery provides you and your family with the full clinical continuum from medically supervised detox through step-down outpatient programming. Your Blue Shield of California PPO through the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan covers treatment here. Licensed facilities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area serve Local 13, 63, and 94 port workers directly. The primary Encino facility is supplemented by residential locations in Northridge and Tarzana, all within the San Fernando Valley serving LA/Long Beach port workers in Locals 13, 63, and 94.

Clinical oversight is provided by Sean O’Neill, LMFT, Clinical Director, who has 24 years in recovery and dual mental health and substance use background. The facility holds accreditations from JCAHO, DHCS, CLIA, ASAM, and LegitScript. The clinical team includes on-site therapists, AMFT staff, RADT behavioral health technicians, and 24-hour nursing coverage across all locations.

Medical Detox

Medical detoxification at New Spirit Recovery provides the physiological stabilization that must precede all subsequent treatment:

• 24-hour nursing supervision and physician-directed pharmacological management with an average length of stay of 7 to 10 days. Clinical extension to 21 days is available based on medical necessity for longshore workers with complex polysubstance use histories.
• CIWA-Ar protocol monitoring governs alcohol withdrawal management, enabling calibrated benzodiazepine dosing that prevents tonic-clonic seizures. COWS-scale assessment guides opioid withdrawal management, preventing the severe physical distress that most commonly causes early dropout.
• All standard psychiatric and dual diagnosis medications are available under physician and nurse practitioner oversight from day one. Co-occurring PTSD and major depressive disorder receive pharmacological attention immediately rather than being deferred to residential programming.
• Members with existing injury pain management prescriptions are assessed individually for medically appropriate continuation, tapering, or substitution with non-opioid alternatives. Members presenting with concurrent benzodiazepine dependence receive simultaneous taper management, as combined alcohol, opioid, and benzo withdrawal carries the highest acute medical risk of any polysubstance detox presentation.

Residential Treatment and Dual Diagnosis Care

Residential treatment at New Spirit Recovery targets both the substance use disorder and the co-occurring mental health conditions that longshore work generates:

• Six hours of structured group and individual therapeutic programming daily, seven days per week. Evidence-based treatment modalities include CBT, DBT, ACT, somatic therapy, and EMDR, the trauma-processing modality most directly applicable to PTSD arising from workplace accident exposure.
• New Spirit Recovery’s dual diagnosis program treats co-occurring PTSD, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders as primary clinical targets from the first day of admission. Psychiatric treatment is not deferred until sobriety is established.
• The proprietary Rewired curriculum, developed by co-founder Erica Spiegelman, delivers 10 structured modules targeting emotional regulation, stress management, self-awareness, trigger identification, healthy boundaries, and personal accountability. It is complemented by holistic practices including acupuncture, reiki, sound bath, and massage that address the chronic physical tension accumulated from years of heavy labor.
• Individual therapy sessions occur at a minimum of weekly, with frequency increased based on clinical acuity. Family services remain available throughout the residential episode, addressing the relational disruption that co-occurring substance use disorder and PTSD produce in longshore workers’ households.

Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorder

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) at New Spirit Recovery directly addresses the receptor-level neuroadaptation that longshore injury-related opioid use disorder and chronic alcohol use disorder produce:

• Buprenorphine (Suboxone) initiation during residential treatment occupies mu-opioid receptors with partial agonist activity. It suppresses withdrawal symptoms and conditioned craving responses without producing the euphoric reinforcement that sustains active opioid use disorder.
• Naltrexone, available in oral formulation and extended-release injectable (Vivitrol), blocks mu-opioid receptor binding and attenuates alcohol cue-reactivity. It is particularly applicable to longshore workers managing both occupational injury pain and shift-related stress simultaneously.
• For members whose opioid use disorder developed from injury pain management, MAT protocols address both the neurobiological substance use disorder substrate and the underlying chronic musculoskeletal pain. Non-opioid analgesic strategies and somatic therapies address the injury-related pain that buprenorphine or naltrexone does not directly resolve.

Step-Down Programming and Return-to-Work Planning

Step-down programming at New Spirit Recovery supports the medically guided transition from residential care to sustainable occupational reintegration:

• PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) delivers intensive structured programming with sober living coordination. It maintains clinical support intensity while allowing you to begin rebuilding occupational and community routines before returning to dispatch eligibility.
• IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) and outpatient programming progressively reduce weekly clinical contact hours as you demonstrate sustained recovery stability. ASAM guidelines establish that sustained treatment engagement produces substantially better outcomes than short-episode residential-only care.
• Step-down coordination with your ADRP regional representative ensures continuity between union benefit authorization and clinical level-of-care transitions. This prevents the coverage gaps that most commonly precede relapse among longshore workers exiting residential treatment. Alumni services provide ongoing peer connection and accountability after the formal treatment episode concludes.
• Return-to-work planning establishes realistic timelines covering residential, PHP, IOP, and outpatient completion. This allows you to project dispatch eligibility windows without creating the treatment-truncating occupational pressure that most commonly precedes early discharge against medical advice.

Your Questions Answered Before You Call

Does the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan cover residential drug and alcohol treatment?

Yes. The Coastwise Indemnity Plan covers substance use disorder treatment through Blue Shield of California PPO and the ADRP, which supplements standard plan limits with additional inpatient and outpatient coverage. Weekly indemnity benefits continue during ADRP-approved treatment so you do not lose income during a residential stay.

What is the ADRP and how do I access it as an ILWU member?

The ADRP (Alcoholism/Drug Recovery Program) is your union’s dedicated recovery program, formally established in 1980. Access it by contacting your regional representative. For Southern California Locals 13, 63, and 94, that is Tamiko Love at (310) 547-9966. The ADRP coordinates treatment authorization, maintains strict confidentiality, and connects you with appropriate levels of care.

Will my employer find out if I enter treatment through the ADRP?

No. ADRP representatives operate under strict confidentiality protocols independent from port employers and the PMA. Federal HIPAA law prohibits treatment facilities from disclosing any health information without a signed Release of Information. Your dispatch status and registration are not accessible to ADRP staff.

Can I be fired for going to rehab as an ILWU member?

No, Federal law prevents this in most circumstances. FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for qualifying employees entering addiction treatment. The ADA prohibits covered employers from terminating members who voluntarily seek care, classifying alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder as disabilities. New Spirit Recovery assists with FMLA documentation during the admissions process.

How long does addiction treatment take for an ILWU member?

Medical detox averages 7 to 10 days, with clinical extension to 21 days when medically indicated. Residential treatment typically forms part of a 35-day total program. Step-down progression through PHP, IOP, and outpatient adds structured months of continued support, consistent with ASAM guidelines, establishing that sustained treatment engagement produces substantially better long-term outcomes than residential-only care.

Does New Spirit Recovery accept Blue Shield of California PPO for ILWU members?

Yes. New Spirit Recovery accepts Blue Shield of California PPO, the carrier for ILWU members enrolled in the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan Coastwise Indemnity Plan. Confirm your specific deductible, co-insurance, and pre-authorization requirements with the admissions team before beginning treatment. Insurance verification is completed in real time during the initial call.

Are family members of ILWU members covered by the ADRP?

Yes. Dependent coverage through the ADRP has been available since 1995. Spouses, domestic partners, and dependent children of eligible ILWU members may access substance use disorder treatment under the ADRP, subject to the same confidentiality protections and benefit structures. Contact your regional ADRP representative directly to confirm dependent eligibility and initiate treatment authorization.

What happens to my dispatch priority if I take FMLA leave for treatment?

FMLA leave is job-protected under federal law. Your position and equivalent employment rights are preserved during the approved leave period. ILWU-specific questions about how FMLA intersects with hall dispatch and registration status should go to your local union representative alongside your ADRP representative. They can coordinate the administrative elements of treatment leave simultaneously.

References

1. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Prevalence of adverse health behaviors and conditions among maritime workers, BRFSS 2014–2018, 38 states. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2022.
2. Mahmoud H, et al. Impact of workplace injury on opioid dependence, abuse, illicit use, and overdose: a 36-month retrospective study of insurance claims. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2021.
3. ILWU-PMA Benefit Plans. ADRP: Alcoholism/Drug Recovery Program.
4. ILWU Coast Longshore Division. About the CLD and Recovery Programs.
5. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/
6. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Medications to treat opioid use disorder research report. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-addiction/overview
7. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Publishing; 2022.
8. U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla
9. California Health Care Foundation. Substance Use in California Almanac, 2025 Edition.