Posts tagged port
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).
White House Urged to Intervene in West Coast Port Labor Talks
March 28, 2023 // A group of more than two hundred importers, exporters, logistics providers, and retailers urged the White House to intervene in West Coast port labor talks that have been underway since last May. In a letter March 24 to President Joe Biden, groups including the National Retail Federation, the American Trucking Associations, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urged the administration to help speed the agreement on a new labor contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, after the contract governing dockworkers from California to Washington State expired on July 1. “While we appreciate that the parties agreed not to engage in a strike or a lockout, we are aware of several instances of activities that have impacted terminal operations. We need the administration to ensure these activities do not continue or escalate,” the March 24 letter said.
US can focus on clearing rail jams after labor deal reached, LA Port director says
September 19, 2022 // About 28,000 containers were awaiting a train at the Port of Los Angeles Thursday, a figure that is about three times higher than where it should be, Los Angeles Port Executive Director Gene Seroka told reporters. Additionally, rail facilities in cities like Chicago, Kansas City and Dallas are facing jams, Seroka noted. “Rail has been challenged for months throughout the national freight network,” Seroka told reporters Thursday. “Since spring, we've seen spikes in volume as well as backlogs and bottlenecks.”