Posts tagged dockworkers
Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing more union problems
November 21, 2023 // Swedish dockworkers joined the strike Nov. 7. As of Friday, the dockworker strike expanded to all ports in the country, preventing the off-loading of new Teslas in Sweden. Swedish postal workers have stopped delivering mail to Tesla's offices, and cleaners have refused to clean the company's buildings.
Union Gets Big Pay Raise at Inefficient West Coast Ports
June 21, 2023 // The disruption tactics the ILWU has been using over the past few months to gain leverage in negotiations appear to have hurt its own members this year, with paid work hours down 25 percent through April 14 compared to the same period last year. That’s partly due to shippers choosing other ports and partly due to dockworkers working less on union orders. Common work actions include assigning fewer workers and slowing down the pace of work. The JOC said that cranes at the port of Seattle–Tacoma went from 25 container moves per hour to fewer than ten. As Peter Tirschwell argued on June 6 in the Wall Street Journal, by delaying negotiations for as long as it did, the ILWU might have missed an opportunity for a bigger pay raise. Ocean carriers earned extraordinary profits due to soaring container rates in 2021 and 2022, but those rates came back down to Earth at the end of last year and are largely back to normal now. And the constant uncertainty every time a West Coast contract expires contrasts with the relative ease with which the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents East Coast dockworkers, has come to contract agreements for decades. The delay-and-prolong approach of the ILWU helps encourage shippers to go elsewhere, leaving less demand for longshore labor on the West Coast.
DOCKWORKERS SETTLE, TEAMSTERS AUTHORIZE UPS STRIKE
June 20, 2023 // Congestion at West Coast ports during the pandemic demonstrated the crucial role the sea freight gateways to the U.S. play in keeping retailers stocked. The new labor agreement ensures that labor disputes are unlikely to be a cause of disruption in the coming years. Meanwhile, negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on a new contract to replace the one that expires at the end of July have been ongoing since April. The authorization for the union to call a strike if negotiations are not successful passed with 97% of the vote, according to the New York Times. Key issues are pay increases and a pay disparity for weekend drivers.
Acting US Labor chief urging West Coast ports contract agreement
June 14, 2023 // On Monday, West Coast seaport employers criticized worker absences, which they said were slowing work at some of the nation's busiest ports, as unions press for a bigger share of record profits reaped when cargo shipments surged during the pandemic. West Coast ports stretching from California to Washington state are critical to U.S. supply chains and the nation's economy. Contract talks have entered their 13th month. The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), representing terminal operators with ties to the shipping companies that enjoyed a hefty financial windfall from COVID-19, said port operations in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Seattle on Sunday suffered disruptions due to labor shortages.
West Coast dockworkers making $200K demand higher pay
June 12, 2023 // International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) dockworkers handle cargo across the West Coast, including at the major container gateways of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland in California, and Seattle and Tacoma in Washington. The ILWU is demanding wages and benefits in the next five-year contract that reflect dockworkers’ role in the COVID-era import boom, a one-off event that ended last year. The prior contract expired July 1, 2022. The union cited the decrease in member wages and benefits as a share of the revenues of terminal employers and ocean carriers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).
Potential dock worker union strike causes families to shop in bulk on Oahu
June 9, 2023 // Long ongoing contract negotiations failed again for dockworkers on the California coastline. This has caused many of them to stop going to work and slowing down operations. There is a trickle-down effect because Hawaii relies on goods being shipped in. And now, many Hawaii residents are flooding local Costco stores to bulk up. “My friend texted me about a potential strike so I ran here for toilet paper. I take care of my 94-year-old mother and I need to make sure she’s fully supplied,” said Keith Lee, Makiki resident.
Labor dispute snarls West Coast ports; White House urged to step in
June 7, 2023 // The maritime association contends members of a dockworkers union have engaged in “concerted and disruptive work actions” for several days. “Union leaders are implementing many familiar disruption tactics from their job action playbook, including refusing to dispatch workers to marine terminals, slowing operations, and making unfounded health and safety claims,” according to a statement the association posted late Monday on Twitter. When asked for comment Tuesday, union officials referred to a statement released Friday by ILWU President Willie Adams. He pointed to “historic” profits made by port operators, which the union estimated topped $510 billion during the pandemic.
Maine: Union workers come to agreement to end strike
June 2, 2023 // Kevin Rose, will offer full-time jobs for union members, training, as well as see more locals get hired to work on the docks, which will create more jobs in New Bedford, and specifically for Cape Verdeans, who make up about 75% of the ILA Local 1413 union. “We’re very excited we’re going back to work. It was tough [but we] pretty much both got what we wanted,” Rose said. “Life-changing. [It’s going to be] life-changing, especially for Cape Verdeans who make up about 75% of the union.” Thursday morning, dockworkers were once again inside the gates ready to get moving on unloading the parts, which right now include sections for the towers. Blades are expected to arrive on-shore within a week, and eventually, the components will be put together on barges, making for what’s expected to be quite a spectacle on the waterfront
Supreme Court gives New Jersey, shipping industry and unions a win in New York ports case
April 19, 2023 // The Supreme Court ruled that New Jersey can withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact it had with New York to police corruption in the shipping industry in the waterways the states share. All nine of the Supreme Court’s justices voted in favor of the ruling, which dismissed arguments by New York in favor of forcing New Jersey to stay in the compact. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion.