Cargo carriers SAN FRANCISCO >> West Coast cargo carriers will lock out dockworkers tomorrow at Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two biggest U.S. ports, unless dockworkers halt a limited strike, the Pacific Maritime Association said today.
threaten lockout
The West Coast dock action is
not affecting Hawaii freight so farFrom staff and wire reports
The PMA, which represents 87 shipping and stevedore companies, said it would take action against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union because it targeted Stevedoring Services of America Inc. of Seattle for a selective walkout.
At a meeting this morning, the PMA board instructed its members to shut down both terminals beginning with the first shift tomorrow morning unless the ILWU, which represents about 10,500 port workers, ceases its strike against SSA. The PMA board's decision comes four days after the first ILWU slowdown against SSA. The carriers and the union have been in a West Coast contract dispute since their contract expired in July
The PMA board action is limited to the Southern California ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach. This port complex is where the ILWU's strike at SSA is taking place. PMA said it hopes the remaining ports on the West Coast will remain in normal operation. Matson Navigation Co. spokesman Jeff Hull said today that the union's slowdown actions so far have not affected the mainland-Hawaii freight.
Brian Taylor, spokesman for mainland-Hawaii competitor CSX Lines, was unavailable for comment today.
"If the ILWU ends the selective work stoppage against SSA, and commits to resume normal operations in Southern California, the PMA will not move forward with a defensive shutdown," said Joe Miniace, PMA's president and chief executive officer.
ILWU spokesman Steve Stallone yesterday denied the union had initiated a slowdown. He said the situation in Long Beach was the result of excess cargo and too few crane operators.
Despite ILWU assertions of a labor shortage to handle the volume in Southern California ports, PMA said labor was dispatched to every other terminal in the vast port complex, with the exception of SSA. As of today's morning shift, PMA said SSA was still being denied critical labor, and as a result, the company's operations were crippled. The company requested 31 ILWU members to provide top-handler and transtainer jobs, yet the union dispatched just three workers.
"The ILWU is attacking a PMA member company in an attempt to gain leverage in the contract negotiations," Miniace said. "This attack, which began on Monday and continues today, is designed to crush this company financially and to create a divide within the PMA. It is now quite clear that the work action initiated by the ILWU against SSA is the centerpiece of the ILWU's announced campaign against SSA."
During a meeting this morning, the PMA board voted unanimously to accept arbitrator Sam Kagel's offer to arbitrate the dispute. Kagel has resolved waterfront labor disputes on the West Coast for four decades.
"The union's decision on Mr. Kagel's arbitration offer was a litmus test," said Miniace. "Unfortunately, the union rejected his offer. By dismissing it, the ILWU has made it clear that it intends to ratchet up this dispute and cause damage to an already fragile U.S. economy rather than trying to resolve differences."
The PMA Board has informed the ILWU in the past that it would not tolerate slowdowns, and would be prompted to take defensive action in response to the union's slowdowns.
"A defensive shutdown is the last thing we want to do, but the union is forcing our hand," Miniace said. "Their destructive actions are debilitating to port operations. The union leaders are clearly putting their self-interests over those of the nation."
Pacific Maritime Association
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
