Previously, only one cruise vessel could plug in. Even "casual workers" those guaranteed no shifts begin at. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File). U.S. West Coast ports and terminal operators are heading into their first round of contract negotiations in eight years with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. But then it recovered and has been booming since. Under the current contract, basic wages (without any skill level) start at $33.31 per hour and top out at $46.23. More at Port Technology, Despite just a modest rise in consumer spending nationally, the Port of Long Beach reported its busiest July on record Tuesday, with an increase in the movement of empty containers offsetting drops in imports and exports. . The ILWU represents dockworkers at West Coast ports in the U.S. and Canada, including Los Angeles and Long Beach. The ruling class does not share the unions touching concern for the supposed greater good, but has taken advantage of shortages to engage in price gouging and drive profits up to record levels. A contract between shipping companies and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers expired on Friday, July 1, 2022, but both sides continue to talk and said they want to avoid a strike. Under the terms of the definitive agreements reached between ONE and its parent companies, Mitsui O.S.K. We continue to look at how we diversify the commodities we handle so that we can be financial stable. Last week, multiple reports say that several U.S. soybean producer groups are planning to help fund the construction of the terminal that would be used to ship soybean meal exports. With the contentious issues of automated cargo handling, wages and benefits, few thought this years contract talks between dockworkers and employers would be quick or easy. After the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in 2020, cargo traffic to ports slumped drastically. By Jim Wiesemeyer July 11, 2022. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, for his part, said during his monthly virtual news briefing last week that both sides are being nudged and that U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was staying close to both sides., But Seroka, who was traveling this week and could not be reached for comment, told the Journal of Commerce for an Oct. 25 article that he didnt see the labor dispute being resolved soon, adding, Were probably months away.. Already, two of the 13 container terminals at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are automated, with plans for two more in progress. Start your day with Sunrise, a roundup of B.C. The dispute in Seattle, according to JOC, centers on the ILWU determining it was not supported in a dispute with the International Association of Machinists over maintenance jobs at the SSA-operated T-5 terminal in Seattle. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province. The Journal of Commerce, a trade industry publication, was the first to report the hitch this week. The local project includes construction of an additional 50,000 feet of rail to accommodate trains; railcar storage; the repurposing of a 50-acre brownfield site; access and roadway improvements; replacement of some marine terminal systems; and other improvements. Contracts are renegotiated every six years, and Cordero said most have concluded without disruptions. The ILWU Coast Longshore Division represents 22,000 ILWU workers at 29 ports on the West Coast. More at Maritime Professional, Excerpts from the WSJ: Its a relief to see it has worked out the way it has, said Nick Hoekendorf, a member of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 32. A contract between shipping companies and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers expired on Friday, July 1, 2022, but both sides continue to talk and said they want to avoid a strike. Indeed, in spite of the ongoing supply chain issues, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month that profits among companies represented by the PMA exceeded $150 billion last year alone. The record high 109 ships. Read more about cookies here. The longshore and warehouse union at Westshore Terminals is on strike, suspending operations at one of Canada's largest and busiest ports for moving coal. (AP Photo/Damian . The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has been accused of using slowdown tactics that have reduced cargo handling, according to a report in trade publication JOC. "Unfounded rumors are rampant during negotiations, and it's unfortunate that some media publish opinions instead of facts.". "This one day disruption, basically takes us a week to recover from," said Aboudi. The current agreement is already a three-year extension of the most recent contract. More at the Port of San Diego, From The Economist: The port is also planning around the Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion project, a $74 million venture to add rail tracks and expand capacity. USW President Tom Conway even bragged that the deal was was non-inflationaryie, it contained cuts to real wages.No doubt the ILWU would defend its position by claiming that workers cannot strike because it would contribute to inflation and worsening supply shortages. A similar project to upgrade a different track cost around $358,000 and was approved in May of 2022 after port officials stated that it would improve the railroads overall safety. In January, CMA CGM completed its acquisition of the Fenix Marine Services container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the United States. With global demand, overseas freight shipping firms are seeing record profits. Watch David Norths remarks commemorating 25 years of the World Socialist Web Site and donate today. Feb 28, 2023 10:39 PM by West Coast Dockworkers Still Talking After Contract Expires, FILE - A truck arrives to pick up a shipping container near vessels moored at Maersk APM Terminals Pacific at the Port of Los Angeles, on Nov. 30, 2021. The funding will also pay for a new, more energy-efficient stormwater treatment system. The Maritime Executive. Longshore union blames management for problems. We continue to expect cargo flows to remain at all-time highs, putting further stress on the supply chain and increasing inflation, the letter said. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 1997-2022, Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc. City workers win wage gains after 3-day strike, Marty Walsh to step down as Secretary of Labor, UO fires organizer in student worker campaign. Experts point out that there were disruptions tied to each of the bargaining efforts over the past 30 years. Were starting all over again, Schmidt said. These carriers made $190 billion in profit in 2021, seven times higher than the year before, Biden said. U.S. More news, fewer ads: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. The labor secretary, a former mayor of Boston and a past union president, told reporters at the time that he trusted the negotiation process and would be available if an impasse occurred or he was asked to step in. "We are shocked that SSA is taking such an action, and we are currently regrouping to determine how to proceed in negotiations while we watch an employer violate the very provision of the contract over which the parties were bargaining," Williams said. Throughout this entire time of the surge and cargo volume, weve brought more longshore members onto the docks to work all this cargo. This fee was conceived as an incentive to ease congestion, keeping imported goods flowing to stores across America, said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. Its a pretty big deal, really, and there are growing pains that go with it. The Port of Los Angeles diverted 40,000 containers to the Port of Long Beach in August when dockworkers at the Port of LA refused to work at the automated section of APM Terminals, the largest container-handling facility citing safety concerns. More at Offshore Wind, On Jan. 25, Port of Longview commissioners unanimously approved a nearly $330,000 project to upgrade several rail tracks after a monthly assessment revealed that some of the track was undersized and needed more stable structures. Published May 9, 2022 11:48 PM by The Maritime Executive. Norfolk Southern finds success with new ideas for supply chain bottlenecks, has been accused of using slowdown tactics, using the UP to Norfolk Southern rail route, How small, diverse, and female-led e-commerce businesses are finding warehouse space, Saltbox CEO Tyler Scriven on the massive, untapped small business logistics market, UN urged to help foreign seafarers, ships stranded in Ukraine since start of war. December 7, 2021 / in Industry News, Industry Trends, Supply Chain / by Tony Nuzio. In February 2022, PMA partnered with the ILWU and the Port of Los Angeles to break ground on a first-of-its-kind training facility that will provide up-skill and re-skill training to position ILWU members for future work on the waterfront. The pamphlet said that the ILWU Local 502 has worked at Westshore Terminals since the terminal opened in 1970 and in 52 years, the union has never had to strike at Westshore. Port operations continue without disruption and we expect this to remain so as the parties continue to work towards an agreement, Noel Hacegaba, deputy executive director of the Long Beach port, said in a written statement. The ILWU in past contracts made concessions on elements such as digitization and the use of automated movers in the ports but recently has fought new automation efforts. The strike ended on July 31, 1934, when both the waterfront employers and the dock workers agreed to federal arbitration. Port of Long Beach (POLB) announced Dec. 28 that its Channel Deepening Project is one of five navigation projects nationwide to receive federal authorization under the 2022 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that was signed into law on Dec. 23. "Operations in The Northwest Seaport Alliance gateway are running smoothly with terminals in Seattle and Tacoma operating at normal levels of productivity," said John Wolfe, chief executive officer of The Northwest Seaport Alliance. More at Feedstuffs. The employers are also apparently demanding longer working hours. Export delays out of the Pacific Northwest are one challenge that U.S. farm exporters have been experiencing. The Seattle dispute, meanwhile, involves a terminal run by a company called SSA Marine and jurisdiction of cold-ironing work the process by which ships hook up to shoreside electrical power. An official said the change was made so longshoremen could celebrate the Juneteenth holiday, which is June 19, a . Could congestion that plagued West Coast ports in 2021 actually get worse in 2022? The Maritime Executive. In fact, in a joint statement with the PMA released two weeks ago, the ILWU declared that it had no intention of even preparing for a strike.While the ILWU and PMA are unlikely to reach a deal before the July 1 expiration of the current agreement, the statement says, [n]either party is preparing for a strike or a lockout, contrary to speculation in news reports.. The proposed Pier Wind facility would span up to 400 acres of newly built land, located southwest of the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge within the Harbor District. The union staged nine months of slowdowns during the last contract negotiations. A Division of NBCUniversal. The fire was reported at 5:23 a.m. by a United Grain longshore barge operator, and fire crews arrived to find a working fire in a conveyor between a grain silo on shore and a barge, operated by Shaver Transportation, in the water, according to the fire department and United Grain. The backlog, anything that comes off the water that needs to go on the raid, from the rail to the water, is not moving," said Aboudi. Caravos Harmony left Port Elizabeth, South Africa on February 10 and got under way for Brazil. Its estimated between 100 to 200 workers are on strike. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has turned down a request for a one-year extension of its collective bargaining agreement with shipping companies represented by the Pacific Maritime Association. But the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) both say theyre focused on negotiating, rather than escalating action. The PMA also alluded to the fear in the industry that contract negotiations could lead to disruptions for carriers at ports that are already overwhelmed by the surge in imports. We have always been very aware of and protected our maritime business, said Julianna Marler, CEO of the Port of Vancouver. The union, which represents an estimated 20,000 dockworkers at 29 ports in California, Oregon, and Washington, has not conducted contract negotiations with the PMA since 2014. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. The Project will improve the Port of Stocktons lead track by replacing and upgrading approximately 13,400 feet of existing rail. In fact, the contract is a miserable sellout, containing 15 percent wage increases over 3 years, far below the rate of inflation. By Peter S. Goodman New York Times, Updated March 28, 2022, 6:07 p.m. A possible labor strike from tens of thousands union dockworkers have spiked Washington's concerns that it will cause ports. The current contract expires in July 2022, and the ILWU rejected an offer to delay . The two negotiating parties have signed a statement saying they will not partake in lock-outs or slowdowns during the negotiating process. Dockworkers on the Pacific coast of the United States, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, are gearing up for a fierce debate as their contract nears expiry, according to various reports.With more than 22,000 workers tending to many of the busiest ports in the world, is it possible that a disruption in service could affect American agriculture? Omaha, Nebraska-based AGP, plans to expand the terminals export capacity from 3 million metric tons to 6 million metric tons. In an exclusive interview with Transport Topics, Wan says the COVID-19 pandemic caused a number of shippers to begin skipping their regular stops at Oakland because it was more profitable to unload Oaklands cargo at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and have it trucked 370 miles north, while those ships headed back to Asia to get more cargo as rates soared in 2020, 2021 and 2022. "While there will be no . Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. "We've been trying, since July, to get a contract with the PMA," saidlongshoreman Keith Shanklin. May 23, 2022. But hes seen the changes that automation has brought to other parts of this port complex. The ILWU represents port workers in California, Oregon . It gives insight to our newer members: In this situation, what did we do in the past? And the pensioners let us know. With less than a week until the contract expires, now is the time for dockworkers to organize to fight to establish rank-and-file control. According to Vilsack, agricultural shippers over the past two years have continually dealt with broken export contracts, canceled bookings, inadequate receiving windows, and shortages of empty containers and other equipment. These logistical workers earn about $41 per hour, a solid middle-class income. ILWU, PMA say they are not preparing for a longshore strike or lockout Published June 14, 2022 Edwin Lopez Managing Editor. 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