‘Disruptive’ Walkout Shuts Down West Coast Ports
The stalemate pitting port terminal operators against West Coast dockworkers appears to be drawing bad blood, just weeks after both sides ironed out new tentative agreements in their ongoing contract negotiations.
Some marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach effectively shut down amid reports that dockworkers didn’t show up to work Thursday evening and Friday morning, according to the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).
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Representing 70 ocean carriers and terminal operators at the 29 West Coast ports, the PMA confirmed that “concerted and disruptive work actions” roiled operations at both San Pedro Bay hubs.
The PMA also said similar dockworker actions “shut down or severely impacted” terminal operations at the ports in Oakland and Hueneme in California, and Seattle and Tacoma in Washington.
Phillip Sanfield, the communications director of the Port of Los Angeles, said some of the facility’s container terminals are experiencing labor shortages leading to operational disruptions. A CNBC report said the port saw closures at the Fenix Marine and APL terminals.
“No other details at this time,” Sanfield told Sourcing Journal.
The Port of Oakland’s international marine terminals are closed Friday for the day shift. Matson Terminal, which is domestic, has limited operations Friday, according to Robert Bernardo, director of communication at the Port of Oakland.
“We anticipate significantly reduced or no operations for the second shift. We were advised that this is due to insufficient labor for operations,” Bernardo told Sourcing Journal. “We expect normal operations to resume by Monday.”
At the Port of Long Beach, all container terminals remain open, according to a statement from the port’s executive director, Mario Cordero, who didn’t address the PMA’s claims of disruption at the gateway.
“As we continue to monitor terminal activity, we urge the PMA and ILWU to continue negotiating in good faith toward a fair agreement,” Cordero said. “The national economy relies on an outcome that keeps goods moving through the San Pedro Bay ports, the most important gateway for trans-Pacific trade. We are optimistic our waterfront workforce and their employers will resolve their differences quickly.”
In a statement released on Friday, the Local 13 branch of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said 12,000 longshore workers in Southern California took it upon themselves to “voice their displeasure” with the position of both the ocean carriers and terminal operators represented by the PMA. They didn’t directly reference a walkout or work stoppage.
Their comments outlined ongoing frustrations since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, calling out the carriers and terminals for making $500 billion in net profit over that time period. It’s a concern that even former presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) specifically addressed.
The local union branch pointed out that at least 43 ILWU members have died of Covid-19.
“Despite this enormous profit and the record-breaking cargo volumes that the labor force moved through Southern California ports during that time, ocean carriers and terminal operators have thumbed their noses at the workforce’s basic requests, insinuating that the health risks and the loss of lives these working people endured during the pandemic did not matter to them and they were expendable in the name of profits,” according to the statement.
The statement didn’t define the union’s basic requests, but the main points workers are seeking largely center on wages, safety and use of automation—the last of which both sides have reportedly come to a tentative agreement on, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Although there doesn’t appear to be a concrete timetable for when the disruption will end, the union’s stance suggests that any action is temporary.
“Cargo operations in the port continue as longshore workers remain on the job to move the nation’s cargo, as they have done valiantly for decades,” the ILWU concluded.
Tensions at the ports started last year when the PMA and ILWU’s previous labor contract expired. After a winter which saw talks reportedly stall due to a jurisdiction dispute in Seattle, as well as a walkout over a pay dispute at the Port of Oakland, both parties have tried to keep the negotiations under wraps.
On April 6, another work stoppage occurred at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, when ILWU crane operators and top handler drivers refused to report to their second shift assignments for the evening.
Two weeks later, the PMA and ILWU announced they reached a tentative agreement on “certain key issues,” but they did not disclose more.
Industry associations whose members are reliant on the undisrupted movement of goods like the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) are showing their concern over the disruptions.
“Retailers are alarmed to learn of the work stoppage underway at several West Coast ports,” said Jessica Dankert, vice president of supply chain at RILA in a statement. “Our nation’s West Coast ports are a crucial link in the retail supply chain. Any interruption or disruption in their operations immediately has a ripple effect that impedes retailers’ ability to quickly and efficiently deliver for American consumers.”
Dankert said that if the work stoppage drags on and contract negotiations continue to falter, the Biden-Harris administration must step in and broker a deal.
RILA’s pleas mimic those of the National Retail Federation (NRF), which in March led a group of 238 state, local and federal trade associations in a letter to President Biden calling on the administration to provide support to help the negotiating parties quickly reach a new agreement.
