Just when the ports on the West Coast had moved beyond the backlog spike of 2021, negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association (which negotiates for the owners and operators of the ports along the West Coast) look like they could break down. Fox Business’s Eric Revell reports:
Disruptions at West Coast ports, particularly the major California hubs at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and ongoing labor negotiations have raised concerns about supply chain woes hitting the U.S. economy during the peak shipping season.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest trade group representing American businesses, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday warning about “premeditated and disruptive service actions that are slowing operations at several major West Coast ports during ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).”
“With continued and potentially expanded service disruptions at these ports heading into peak shipping season, we urge your Administration to intervene immediately and appoint an independent mediator to help the two parties reach an agreement that prevents significant economic harm to American families and the economy,” wrote Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Clark said the service disruptions “follow a familiar pattern of negotiations between the PMA and ILWU over the last twenty years,” noting the 2002 slowdowns and 11-day shutdown of West Coast ports, work stoppages at various shipping hubs that lasted three weeks in 2008, and 2014 work slowdowns.
The ILWU’s collective bargaining agreement expired last July and the current round of negotiations – which began on May 10, 2022 – is yet to yield an agreement. The ILWU represents over 22,000 longshore workers at 29 West Coast ports, all of whom would be covered by the collective bargaining agreement that’s currently being negotiated.
Read more here.
