Dockworkers’ contract
about to expire

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

The West Coast longshore labor contract, vital to Hawaii's ocean supply line, expires July 1 but both sides are still talking and there is no indication that any shipping disruption is likely, industry sources said.

The two biggest shipping lines connecting the mainland to Hawaii, Matson Navigation & Co. and Sea-Land Service Co., are among the 90 companies represented by the Pacific Maritime Association, which is negotiating with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union for a new contract covering West Coast ports.

ILWU contracts for the Hawaii ports also expire a week from Thursday but traditionally they wait to see what happens on the West Coast before finalizing their negotiations.

The ILWU and the PMA both said they have agreed not to comment publicly during the talks. However, the PMA has been running a statement on its Web page, www.pmanet.org, saying management is "confident that the parties will continue the negotiation process to reach a joint settlement without any interruption to cargo flows."

An independent report by a Long Beach-based trade newsletter, the Cunningham Report, said the union demands include higher pay, more vacations and broader jurisdiction, such as the right to have its members handle all of the companies' cargo and equipment within a port, on roads around it, or on barges or rail yards at the port.

The shipping companies want to be able to bring in labor-saving technology without union interference and want fewer work stoppages, the newsletter said.

Laurence Vogel, president of one of Hawaii's biggest food importers, Y. Hata & Co., said his business recently built up stocks to a higher than usual level to be sure it doesn't run out of everything. "It adds a financial burden," Vogel said, but "we're totally dependent on transportation" and can't afford to run out of stock.

Matson recently added several extra sailings between Los Angeles and Honolulu because of what it told customers was an expected "peak period" during the labor talks.