Posts tagged Pacific Maritime Association
U.S. port, union talks break down again over automation, with two months to go before potential strike
November 13, 2024 // USMX says the use of semi-automated cranes, already at many ports, is critical to future supply chain demands. The International Longshoremen's Association, which is not publicly commenting, has said in the recent past that the union wants new contract language to clearly state that "no automation means no automation."
Union workers reach a tentative deal with Kaiser Permanente after the largest-ever US health care strike
October 13, 2023 // “The frontline healthcare workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente,” the union coalition said on X. “We are thankful for the instrumental support of Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su.” The company also thanked Su its tweet about the deal. “We are excited to have reached a tentative agreement with the frontline health care workers of the union coalition. We are thankful for the instrumental involvement of Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Su,” it said in its tweet. The strike last week lasted only three days, the length of time it had been scheduled to run. But the coalition of unions was threatening an eight-day strike next month with even more workers walking out if a new deal was not reached by October 31.
Councilmember calls for report on driverless cargo handlers at LA port
August 18, 2023 // In 2019, the Board of Harbor Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a permit for Maersk, a global logistics conglomerate, to introduce driverless electric cargo handlers inside its facility at the port. Part of Maersk’s transport and logistics business unit, APM Terminal’s Pier 400, is one of the largest single proprietary terminals in the world, according to McOsker’s office. The Los Angeles City Council stepped in and voted to deny the permit to begin the process of automating operations at the APM terminal. Shortly afterward, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents dockworkers, and the Pacific Maritime Association — the group representing industry leaders — entered into an agreement with APM to proceed with the program. Under this plan, APM would deploy up to 130 driverless cargo handlers to shuttle containers from the docks to drayage trucks and rail, establish a workforce training program for ILWU members who work at the terminal, and pursue efforts to employ those workers.
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.
For ILWU, West Coast port deal to be union-ratified, here’s what has to happen next
June 16, 2023 // West Coast port management and the labor union representing port workers reached a tentative deal late on Wednesday after the intervention of California labor market pro and Biden acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in the negotiations in San Francisco, but it could be months before the full union votes to approve the deal. The tentative agreement was a welcome development after weeks of escalating tensions between workers and port management, resulting in delays in vessel servicing, congestion at ports, in containers and out to trucking, as well as some port shutdowns. But the proposed labor deal is a far way from being fully approved, according to the International Longshore & Warehouse Union. While the union statement on the deal was positive, it laid out a process that still has several steps to go before the deal moves ahead.
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.
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.
Ports of LA, Long Beach return to normal operations amid ongoing labor dispute
June 6, 2023 // "We aren't going to settle for an economic package that doesn't recognize the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce that lifted the shipping industry to record profits,'' Adams said. Similarly, the ports effectively shut down for two days in April because of work shortages. But the union claimed it was the result of workers taking time off for religious holidays and for attending a union meeting.
Top U.S. shipping gateway mostly closes due to port worker shortage – employer group
April 10, 2023 // A substantial number of ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach workers, including operators needed to load and unload cargo, failed to show up on the job starting Thursday evening, according to the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents employers. The PMA said the missing workers were a result of a coordinated action by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to withhold labor as contract talks drag on. "The action by the union has effectively shut down the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach," the PMA said in a statement. Instead, the ILWU said the slowdown was due to thousands of union workers attending a monthly membership meeting on Thursday evening and observing the Good Friday holiday the following day.