Labor strife threatens West Coast ports
Labor strife threatens West Coast ports
With tense negotiations continuing between dockworkers and West Coast ports, drivers from a handful of Southern California drayage companies set up picket lines at those firms causing some disruptions at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The dockworker negotiations have been ongoing since the last contract expired between the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers operating shipping lines and port terminals, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The negotiation process has involved accusations from each side, including the employers claiming that there has been an orchestrated slowdown at four West Coast ports. Though the dockworkers union denies this, there are fears that looming on the horizon is a dock strike, which could hamper activities in as many 29 ports with more than 20,000 workers.
In 2002, a perceived worker slowdown during negotiations led to a 10-day lockout that shut down importing and exporting from the West Coast for about two weeks.
Noting the increased rhetoric, the National Retail Federation recently sent a letter to President Obama urging that a federal mediator be utilized to achieve a new contract.
In the meantime, truck drivers working for drayage companies have long disagreed with their classification as independent contractors rather than employees of these trucking companies. As independent contractors, the truckers are not compensated in the same manner as an employee for long wait times at the ports as they pick up loads. The mayor of Los Angeles has gotten involved in the truck driver negotiations, and truck drivers agreed last week not to picket two companies involved in those negotiations. But on Monday, Nov. 17, the truck drivers from three more firms did set up picket lines.
Ken Gilliland, director of international trade and transportation for Irvine, CA-based Western Growers Association, said members have noted the slowdown at several ports. “What was taking a couple of hours (putting a container on a chassis and readying it for trucking from the port to another destination) is now taking a half a day or even a full day.”
He said in some ports ships are lining up at sea waiting their turn to get in as it is taking longer to unload the cargo of each ship while it is in port. Gilliland said it does appear to be a difficult situation “that could be ready to explode.”
He added that the big question is what will happen if the truck drivers set up picket lines at the ports. “Union workers (ILWU) tend to honor those picket lines so it could become a very messy situation,” he told The Produce News on Tuesday morning, Nov. 18.
