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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

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News, Ocean Ports

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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Senators Urge ILWU, PMA to Reach Contract Agreement

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Los Angeles, CA – Pressure is mounting on the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to successfully conclude their negotiations to craft a labor contract covering major ports on the U.S. West Coast from Seattle to San Diego.

In a letter sent yesterday, the U.S. senators from California, Oregon, and Washington urged leaders from both the PMA and the ILWU “to continue working together toward a fair and amicable settlement on a proposed collective bargaining agreement.”

The letter, which was sent to ILWU President Robert McEllrath and PMA President and CEO James C. McKenna, was signed by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington.

“This collective bargaining agreement is important for the health, safety and economic well-being of the 13,600 longshore, clerk, and foreman workers at 29 ports from California to Washington, as well as for companies large and small, agriculture producers, ports, and international buyers around the world,” the senators wrote.

“We strongly urge both the PMA and the ILWU to continue negotiating in good faith to resolve the remaining issues and to swiftly move toward a final contract agreeable to both parties.”

Last week, a diverse coalition including retailers, manufacturers and farmers and other supply chain stakeholders led by the National Retail Federation (NRF) addressed a letter to the White House urging the government’s “immediate involvement” in the contract negotiations.

The coalition called on the Obama Administration “to become engaged in the contract negotiations before a disruption can occur,” and recommended the use of a federal mediator to forestall any threat of a management-directed lockout or labor-initiated strike.

“We believe immediate action is necessary and the federal government’s use of all of its available options would be helpful in heading off a shutdown and keeping the parties at the negotiating table,” the coalition letter said.

The NRF and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) issued an economic analysis in June that found a port shutdown would cost the U.S. economy approximately $2 billion a day.

The NRF-NAM analysis estimated that a 5-day stoppage at ports on the U.S. West Coast would reduce U.S. GDP by $1.9 billion a day. This would increase exponentially with a 20-day stoppage resulting in a loss of $2.5 billion a day.

11/13/2014

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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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Deadline Looms for US West Coast Port Contract

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Los Angeles, CA – As the possibility of a crippling work stoppage at 30 US West Coast ports looms on the horizon, a study just released by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) outlines what impact such an event would have on the US economy.

Closed-door negotiations have been underway for more than a month between the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents terminal operators, and the International Longshoremen & Warehouse Union to craft a contract that would frame the work of more than 14,000 dock workers at container load centers from Puget Sound to San Diego.

The current contract expires at 5:00 pm, July 1. If no contract has been agreed to by the deadline, both the PMA, which represents the terminal operators, and the ILWU could agree to extend the existing agreement into August, but there is no guarantee as past contract negotiations between the two groups have historically been contentious.

According to the joint NAM-NRF study, “a prolonged strike between the negotiating parties could lead to reduced or shuttered terminal operations for an extended period. If such disruptions occur, the economic impact would be significant and widespread” and the repercussions “would grow with time.”

A 5-day stoppage, the study said, would reduce the country’s GDP $1.9 billion a day, disrupt 73,000 jobs, and cost the average household $81 in purchasing power, while a 10-day stoppage would cut GDP by $2.1 billion a day, impact 169,000 jobs; and cost the average household $170 in purchasing power.

A port closure of 20 days would slash GDP by $2.5 billion a day; affect 450,000 jobs; and cut the average household’s purchasing power by $366, the study said.

“Understanding the Consequences”

“It is important for the parties at the table as well as others to fully understand the economic consequences of a port disruption,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Any supply chain disruption, whether it’s a port slowdown or outright stoppage, would cripple international trade, stymie supply chains and hurt domestic employment and consumer spending.”

For retailers and their customers, a port closure, “would mean a delay in back-to-school and holiday shipments that could significantly drive up consumer prices,” Shay said.

Manufacturers, said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said, “depend on the ability of West Coast ports to efficiently move cargo valued at 12.5 percent of US GDP. A shutdown would erode that figure and inflict long-term damage to our competitiveness as manufacturers and as a nation. The parties must come to an agreement before the current contract expires.”

In 2002, negotiations between the PMA and the ILWU failed with the resulting 11-day port shutdown imposing such havoc on the national economy that then-President George W. Bush had to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to order both parties back to work.

A research report published at the time by the University of California at Berkeley estimated that total cost of shutting down the West Coast ports was about $2 billion a day in lost business and tax revenue from sales and wages. The strike also created a backlog of cargo that took weeks to alleviate.

Traditionally ILWU-PMA contracts cover three years. But after the 2002 lockout, a six-year contract was instituted as a way of ensuring labor stability for a longer time.

The six-year duration was renewed again in 2008 as the economy was struggling and stability was again a priority. In the current negotiations, the three-year term is again back on the table.

06/26/2014