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Federal Mediation OK’d for Stalled Port Labor Talks

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Federal Mediation OK’d for Stalled Port Labor Talks

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Los Angeles, CA –Several of the nation’s largest industry groups are expressing relief with the news that a federal mediator will be assigned to referee the stalled labor contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU).

The PMA represents the terminal operators and ocean carriers that call at 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast from Seattle to San Diego; the ILWU represents the 20,000-plus dockworkers employed at the ports’ cargo terminals who’ve been without a contract since last July 1.

Reacting to the announcement from the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Jonathan Gold, vice president of Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation (NRF) said, “After months of heated rhetoric and increasing cargo congestion, this is the first positive news from the West Coast ports in some time…we sincerely hope the FMCS-supervised negotiations will progress quickly and that final agreement on a new labor contract will be reached relatively soon.”

Robyn Boerstling, director of Transportation and Infrastructure Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), called the intervention of a federal mediator “welcome news.”

Commending the PMA and the ILWU for “taking this critical step in order to keep negotiations on track with the goal of reaching a long-awaited agreement between the negotiating parties,” Boerstling said U.S. manufacturers “depend on the ability of West Coast ports to efficiently move cargo valued at 12.5 percent of U.S. GDP and a prolonged slowdown would continue to inflict long-term damage to the economy.”

Both the NRF and the NAM have called for federal mediation since the beginning of the labor negotiations. Last month, the two Washington, D.C.-headquartered groups led a group of 160 national trade groups urging both the PMA and the ILWU to iron-out their differences and end the impasse.

American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President and CEO Kurt Nagle also applauded the decision to name a mediator saying, “We believe that federal mediation will result in a fair and equitable agreement, and that without prompt settlement of the issues, our entire nation – not just the West Coast – could suffer long-term, detrimental economic and trade-related impacts from the unpredictability of goods movements through our ports.”

On Dec. 17, AAPA sent a letter to President Obama, advocating that he begin the process of assigning a federal mediator to help the two parties reach an amicable contract agreement. Earlier, the U.S. Congressional delegations from California, Oregon and Washington state, appealed to the White House for intervention in the negotiations.

The ports impacted handled $892 billion in imports and exports in 2013, according to the latest data as work slowdowns by ILWU members at Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, and Seattle – several of the nation’s busiest container ports – have had a huge negative impact on the flow of manufactured goods, agricultural products, and raw materials in and out of the country.

1/07/2015

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Another Appeal for White House Action on Port Talks

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Los Angeles, CA – The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has joined the chorus of national organizations with a letter to the White House urging to appoint a federal mediator to administer the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).

“America’s seaports are absolutely vital to our economy, jobs and international competitiveness,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and CEO.  “At this tender stage of the economic recovery, our nation simply cannot afford disruptions, let alone a shutdown, of any part of the ports system.”

Contract negotiations between the ILWU and the PMA have dragged on since the end of May with work slowdowns at the 29 U.S. West Coast ports affected by the talks significantly cutting into cargo volumes. Particularly impacted are the major ‘load center’ ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma.

After seven months of labor negotiations without an agreement being reached, he said, “we believe that federal mediation is now necessary to prevent the significant economic repercussions that can occur whenever there is uncertainty and unpredictability in the movement of international commerce through our ports.”

According to the port group, international trade accounts for nearly one-third of the U.S. economy with the country’s seaports handling more than 99 percent of the nation’s overseas imports and exports, amounting to more than 2 billion tons of goods annually.

“This mammoth flow of trade supports more than 13 million American jobs and generates over $200 billion a year in tax revenues. Disruptions to this trade flow hurt American businesses and farmers, cost American consumers and impede America’s ability to compete in international markets,” wrote Nagle.

Over the last several weeks, a coalition of businesses and trade organizations, led by the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation, have communicated with the White House urging the President to take action, while Congressional delegations from California, Oregon and Washington have also communicated with the White House calling for executive action.

In mid-November, the White House issued a statement from the President saying that he was “confident” the negotiations would come to a successful conclusion.

12/18/2014

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Pressure Builds on White House to Take Port Action

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Los Angeles, CA – Pressure is building on the White House to appoint a federal mediator to broker a new labor contract between U.S. West Coast union dock workers and the terminal operators that employ them at 29 U.S. West Coast ports from Bellingham, Washington, to San Diego.

The latest call for action comes from the executive directors of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port Long Beach, as a work slowdown at the nation’s two top-ranking containerports has eroded dramatically since both the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) ended an unsuccessful round of talks in October.

The PMA has charged the ILWU is filling only about 50 percent of the work orders for skilled equipment operators needed for yard work, while the union insists the admittedly slowed pace is a result of a chronic list of problems that range from working the latest generation of mega-containerships to a shortage of chassis and what they call “terminal mismanagement.”

“Enough is enough. These guys have to get back to work,” said Jon Slangerup, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, at a recent maritime industry event.

Slangerup and Gene Seroka, executive director of the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, have joined a growing number of representatives from both the public and private sectors publicly urging President Obama to name a Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service representative to end the impasse and get both groups to come to an agreement and end the crippling work slowdown.

Over the past several weeks, the two largest industry groups in the country – the National Retail Federation and the National Association of Manufacturers – have ramped-up their efforts to get the White House to act with U.S. Senators and House delegations from California, Washington, and Oregon and the mayors of several cities including Los Angeles and Long Beach have written President Obama urging him to appoint a mediator.

Agricultural exporters have reported the shipping delays are backing up supply lines and creating serious economic damage, hurting their reputation among overseas buyers.

Obama’s only statement on the situation was issued in mid-November, when an Administration spokesman said that the president was “confident the two sides” will reach a contract.

The situation, said Slangerup, “has gotten worse. That should send a clear signal to the White House that it is time for action. The president has to act. It is long overdue.”

12/12/2014

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Shippers Steam as Port Negotiators Take a Thanksgiving Break

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Los Angeles, CA – The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is being slammed for refusing to hold “big table” West Coast labor contract talks during a 12-day break that extends through the Thanksgiving weekend.

“Three weeks after initiating a coordinated series of slowdowns that have plagued the major West Coast ports of Tacoma, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has now taken its slowdown tactics to the bargaining table,” the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), the other party in the negotiations, said in an angry statement.

As a result of the ILWU’s decision, the PMA said, “the only bargaining through December 1 will be limited to subcommittees discussing “limited” issues.

No Contract Extension

“Making matters worse, the ILWU is refusing to agree to a temporary contract extension – similar to one it signed over the summer – despite multiple requests,” the PMA said.

A contract extension, the PMA said, “would give both parties access to the well-established waterfront grievance process, and most notably would give employers recourse for the ILWU slowdowns that are continuing.”

The Thanksgiving break “and the Union’s refusal to extend the contract are taking place amid continuing worker slowdowns, which began on Halloween in Tacoma and soon spread to Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach.”

In some ports, the PMA charged, “productivity remains 30 percent or more below normal, as a result of orchestrated ILWU maneuvers.”

This productivity loss, it said, “is distinct” from the congestion that has caused severe congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“In fact, those two ports were the only major West Coast ports that experienced congestion prior to ILWU slowdowns, and the ILWU has knowingly made the situation in Southern California worse by failing to dispatch qualified crane operators per longstanding practice – the same skilled workers who can help to alleviate yard congestion,” the PMA said.

National Retail Federation Responds

In reaction to the break in contract talks, the National Retail Federation (NRF) is repeating its call on the White House “to immediately engage the parties to get them back to the negotiating table.”

According to a statement from NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay, “After six months of negotiations we have seen very little progress. It’s time the parties accept a federal mediator to help them bridge the gaps and arrive at a new contract.

Without a contract, he said, “stakeholders cannot work on addressing the ongoing congestion issues at the ports.

The nation’s retailers and our vendors, suppliers and customers are counting on the two parties to act responsibly.”

Earlier this year, NRF and the National Association of Manufacturers released a report that found a shutdown at 29 U.S. West Coast ports from Seattle to San Diego would cost the economy about $2 billion a day.

11/21/2014

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Update: West Coast Longshore Talks Continue

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Los Angeles – The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have resumed contract negotiations.

Both groups took a four-day break in the talks as ILWU representatives attended unrelated contract negotiations with grain handlers in the Pacific Northwest.

According to a joint statement, the talks, so far have been “productive” with both the PMA and the ILWU pledging to “keep cargo moving through US West Coast ports during the negotiations.”

The six-year contract between dockworkers and the employers who operate port terminal and shipping lines expired on July 1. It covers workers at 29 ports from San Diego, California to Bellingham, Washington.

In the weeks preceding the expiration of the original contract, businesses across the country, and overseas, were concerned about the possibility of a work stoppage that could have paralyzed the movement of cargo through US West Coast ports including the major container load centers in Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, and Seattle/Tacoma.

In 2002, a breakdown in labor negotiations resulted in a 10-day lockout at the 29 ports that was estimated to have cost the US economy $1 billion a day with the supply chains of some companies seriously ‘kinked’ for up to six months afterwards.

At the time, a week before the July 1 expiration date, Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation (NRF), said, “Folks are nervous about what’s going to happen once the contract expires.”

The concern was underscored by the fact that, during the months of July through September, retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp receive ocean shipments of goods sold during their critical back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons, he said.

Past experience shows that labor negotiations at West Coast ports typically extend beyond the contract expiration date with the current round of talks possibly extending into September, according to some sources.

08/04/2014

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Longshoremen Approve Port of Charleston Contract

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Charleston, SC – Members of an International Longshoremen’s Association local that represents approximately 14,500 workers voted to approve a strike at Port of Charleston docks last week, but workers have not yet walked off the job, officials said.

The local labor contract is separate from the master contract ratified last year by the ILA and US Maritime Alliance.

Kenneth Riley, president of ILA Local 1422 said it is not unusual for a union to authorize a strike at this point in the process and there is not imminent threat of a strike, and that it has requested federal arbitration.

“The strike vote gives us the authorization if it comes to that,” he said. “We don’t anticipate that, and we are nowhere near that. The ILA remains optimistic and is hoping for similar outcome this time around. With that in mind, the ILA has invited the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to assist to break the stalemate.”

The longshoremen’s union has not taken action to halt cargo movement at the local marine terminals, according to Billy Adams Jr., executive director of the South Carolina Stevedore Association.

Adams said that ILA workers have threatened to walk off the docks in the past.

Riley said the ILA has been trying to negotiate with the South Carolina Stevedore Association for a new labor contract, noting its membership has rejected the employer’s “best and final offer.” The ILA is reportedly pushing for higher pensions and to perform work currently handled by state ports authority employees.

“Management was asked to give them their best and final offer,” Adams said. “We were still in negotiations when they asked for our best and final offer.”

07/07/2014

 

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No Work Disruptions at West Coast Ports, Say PMA, ILWU

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Los Angeles, CA – Despite the failure to hammer out a contract by today’s 5:00 p.m. PST deadline, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)  and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have announced that there will be no disruption of cargo handling activity at 29 ports from Tacoma to San Diego.

Both the PMA and the ILWU issued a joint statement saying that, “While there will be no contract extension, cargo will keep moving and normal operations will continue at the ports until an agreement can be reached.”

The PMA represents terminal operators and ocean carriers with the ILWU representing the 20,000 longshoremen that work the docks at what are some of the busiest container ports in the country.

Both sides, the statement said, “understand the strategic importance of the ports to the local, regional and US economies, and are mindful of the need to finalize a new coast-wide contract as soon as possible to ensure continuing confidence in the West Coast ports and avoid any disruption to the jobs and commerce they support.”

It’s not unusual for PMA-ILWU negotiations at West Coast ports to extend beyond the contract expiration date. The current round of negotiations could stretch through to the end of this month.

“The negotiators will keep negotiating, the workers will keep working,” said Craig Merrilees, spokesman for the ILWU last week. In 2002, a breakdown in negotiations resulted in a 10-day lockout at West Coast ports that resulted in an 11-day port shutdown that analysts said cost the US economy $1 billion a day and disrupted supply chains for six months.

7/01/2014