Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Top Story
Port management says L.A.-Long Beach dockworkers staging slowdown
The Pacific Maritime Association said that dockworkers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are staging a slowdown to gain the upper hand in West Coast port contract negotiations.
In recent weeks, ships have been forced to wait off the Los Angeles coastline for days, as they wait for cargo on the docks to clear. Employers at the country’s largest port complex, which is plagued with the worst congestion in a decade, says labor slowdowns began Monday, Nov. 10.
PMA said the International Longshore and Warehouse Union is refusing to deploy hundreds of workers that transport cargo containers at terminals.
A union spokesman did not respond to the accusations, saying only that contract negotiations are ongoing.
"The ILWU’s orchestrated job actions are threatening the West Coast’s busiest ports and potentially billions of dollars in commerce," Pacific Maritime Assn. spokesman Wade Gates said in a statement.
The congestion is caused by many factors, including a surge of final holiday shipments, an increase of massive container ships that are inundating the docks with cargo, and a shortage of truck chassis.
Now, management says dockworkers are contributing to the problem.
"Workers are frustrated because employers have delayed action for years on the underlying issues that created the port congestion – including many of their own making – and have also been delaying resolution of the contract talks for many months," said union spokesman Craig Merrilees in an email.
On Monday the PMA accused the union of slowing down operations at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.
The union, in response, called the statement that such an agreement was reached a "bold-faced lie." It said the two sides have never agreed on what "normal" operations are.
"PMA’s media offensive is designed to smear the union and to deflect responsibility from a growing congestion problem that is plaguing major West Coast ports," the union said Monday in a statement.
The National Retail Federation and more than 100 other business groups sent a letter last week to President Obama, urging that a federal mediator help the two parties reach an agreement.
For more of the Los Angeles Times story: www.latimes.com
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