Shippers say job action slows SoCal port operations

About 26,000 workers at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington have been working without a contract since July 1, making it impossible for shippers to contest what they believe to be disruptive tactics.

The Associated Press

7/17/2008

LOS ANGELES — Dockworkers at the nation’s largest port complex are continuing to take shift breaks at the same time and working at a slower pace, causing cargo traffic to slow down, a spokesman for the association representing West Coast shippers said Wednesday.

The workers have been taking coordinated breaks every day since Friday and have taken other small job actions, Pacific Maritime Association spokesman Steve Getzug said. They include tractor drivers moving “more slowly than normal” and brief delays during the transferring of containers onto trucks or back on ships, he said.

“What we’re talking about here is fewer containers being moved hour to hour, which has a cumulative impact,” Getzug said. “The kinds of actions we’re seeing are of concern to us because it has obviously an impact on operations, but it also signals that the union is going back to tactics that they used in the past to influence negotiations when a contract runs out.”

Since March the PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have been in negotiations for a new, three-year contract.

Union spokesman Craig Merrilees said the shippers were “exaggerating” and that both sides were still talking.

“What’s really important is that the ports are open, cargo is moving, longshore workers are on the job, companies are making tons of money, and the contract talks are making progress — that’s a pretty good situation from any perspective,” he said.

On Friday, workers at the Tacoma, Wash., port walked off the job for four hours, leaving 82 containers on the dock instead of on a departing ship, Getzug said.

Merrilees said the protest was triggered by a dispute during negotiations for a local contract. Workers stopped working after a local PMA representative walked away from the bargaining table. The issue was quickly resolved and both sides resumed negotiations the next day, he said.

The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle about 40 percent of the nation’s cargo.

The union and the shippers are seeking to avoid a repeat of a bitter labor dispute that led to a 10-day lockout in 2002 and caused an estimated $15 billion in economic losses.

Both sides have already reached a tentative agreement on health care benefits. Wage, pension, safety and productivity issues remain under discussion.