Hawaii takes strike Apart from a few concerns about supplies of toilet paper, rice and bottled water, Hawaii seems to be taking the threat of a West Coast dock strike in stride.
threat with calm
Isle talks start today
By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comWater? Yes, said one supermarket official. People have been buying more bottled drinking water from the mainland than usual. Bottled water is heavy, bulky and not priced high enough to be able to absorb air freight costs.
Much more bulky, but lighter in weight, are the typical paper products that have been snapped up in previous threats to shipping from the mainland to the islands, notably toilet paper and paper towels. There has been a rise in buying of those items, store operators say.
Times Supermarket Ltd. has brought in larger than usual quantities of some of the essential items, "rice, paper, that type of thing," said President Roger Godfrey. Godfrey said, however, that news from the negotiations on the West Coast has not been bad.
There was little evidence of worry about the pending expiration of International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract on the West Coast.
The agreement, covering more than 10,000 workers, expires at 2 p.m. HST Monday. Work slowdowns could happen, too, disrupting shipping but not stopping it.
Matson Navigation Co. said it has noticed an increase in cargo volume to Hawaii in recent weeks that could be a result of island businesses building up inventories in case a work stoppage or slowdown disrupts the supply line.
Competitor CSX Lines said it has also seen a step-up in shipments to the islands. "There has definitely been an increase in certain commodity segments," such as food and beverages, newsprint and other paper products, said Brian Taylor, vice president and general manager of the CSX Hawaii-Guam division.
Taylor said it is hard to say if all of the increase is a result of waterfront worries. Some, he said, may be due to the improving economy.
Talks with ILWU representatives in Honolulu regarding separate contracts for the Hawaii docks were to begin today. Hawaii dock negotiations typically follow those on the West Coast. Hiring patterns are different in the islands, with the dock workers employed in regular jobs by stevedoring companies while West Coast waterfront workers get picked up daily through union hiring halls. Hawaii wages and benefits usually work out close to those on the West Coast.
Matson is also negotiating with several unions representing workers aboard its ships, whose contracts expire Sunday.
Meanwhile, as hundreds of West Coast ILWU longshoremen staged solidarity demonstrations in dock areas yesterday, supported by East Coast longshore workers and representatives of other unions, management representatives said there was some positive news from the negotiating table.
The West Coast Waterfront Coalition, an association of shipping-line customers that has the backing of shipping-line management, said the union has set aside its position that pay and other benefits need to be discussed first, and is willing to let other points, such as new technology, be dealt with before benefits.
Yesterday, union spokesman Steve Stallone said the talks were stuck on issues including salaries and benefits. There had yet to be substantive discussion, he said, on shippers' top priorities -- modernization to make the ports more automated, efficient and secure. Instead, shippers came to the table asking for concessions in health coverage and a wage freeze, according to Stallone.
A full-time longshoreman earned $107,000 last year and a full-time foreman averaged $167,000, according to maritime association records.
Even if the parties don't reach agreement by the Monday deadline, labor unrest on the docks isn't guaranteed. In 1999, the deadline came and went, longshoremen kept working, and about two weeks later the two sides settled. However, shipping lines complained that slowdowns and disruptions leading up to the eventual settlement cost them millions.
President Bush also can impose an 80-day cooling-off period to kick-start negotiations and keep longshoremen working. West Coast docks have had strikes in 1934, 1936-37, 1948 and 1971.
The ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents management of more than 100 shipping companies, have been negotiating in San Francisco, where both are based.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
BACK TO TOP |
The potential for a dock workers strike on the West Coast already has some local businesses planning for the worst. Air cargo
company sees boostBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comAir cargo carrier Pacific Air Cargo flies 747s to Los Angeles five times a week and to Guam once a week. Station manager Tom Ingram said the number of inquires about alternative shipping arrangements has stepped up considerably in recent days.
"I'm averaging about 10 to 15 calls on this a day," he said.
Ingram said the market for perishable goods would be among the worst hit in the event of a strike.
"Things like fish and frozen products and a lot of the fast-food places like McDonald's and Jack-in-the-Box because they ship just about everything in," he said.
Ingram said he is monitoring the progress of union negotiations on the West Coast.
"It's getting down to the wire, so it's something we're watching closely," he said.
Ingram said he would need 48 hours to position two additional planes on the mainland that could be put into service. "If I had 48 hours I could do it, but I'd have to get a lot of committed shippers before running something like that and it takes a bit of strategic planning," he said.
Ingram notes that in the event of a strike, it would take more than the airlines running additional flights to accommodate extra cargo. Adequate ground handling facilities and personnel would be an issue, he said.
"It's a collective effort to get (cargo) ground-handled and you have to service the customers and get them their cargo so it's not just a matter of putting planes in the air, it's having the personnel," he said.