Trade concerns over an impasse between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) regarding contract negotiations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are heightening.
PMA represents employers of the shipping community using the US West Coast.
“ILWU Local 13, the union’s largest local on the West Coast, has continued to disrupt operations at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s largest port complex,” PMA said in its latest advisory.
PMA also noted, “While the union is using new tactics, the result is the same: the disruption of terminal operations.”
According to PMA, the union resorted to delaying the standard dispatch process, which is jointly administered by PMA and the ILWU, and also refused to allow PMA’s participation in the labour dispatch process.
“These actions have slowed the start of operations throughout the Southern California port complex. In addition, the union has forced crucial cargo handling equipment to be taken out of operation at several key terminals,” the industry group said.
Together, these illegal work actions have disrupted activities at some of the largest and most active terminals in the United States, which play a critical role in the movement of cargo to and from markets throughout the nation.
According to PMA, the union opted to stage coordinated actions as negotiations for a new coastwise contract were progressing, having begun in May 2022 after the last contract came to an end on July 1, 2022.
PMA went on to explain, “As has been pointed out for years, any actions that undermine confidence in West Coast ports threaten to further accelerate the diversion of discretionary cargo to Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Cargo diversion places quality jobs at risk far beyond the docks, including truck drivers, warehouse workers, and thousands of others whose livelihoods depend on ongoing operations at the port.”
Labour disruptions have been a thorn in the side of industry stakeholders on the US West Coast since mid-2022.
According to Lars Jensen, a leading container shipping analyst, this risk factor has kept many US importers from shifting parts of their supply chains back from the east coast to the west coast even though the pandemic-induced issues had largely been resolved.
Jenny Daniel
Global Correspondent
Contact email: j.daniel@container-news.com
