July 13, 2008
Negotiations between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents 71 waterfront employers, became increasingly sticky late last week with the PMA charging union members with slowing down production while talks continue. The PMA says union workers at the Port of Tacoma walked off the job for about four hours on Friday, apparently in protest over lack of progress on local issues. At the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, workers deviated from their standard practice of staggering their mid-shift breaks in order to keep the terminal operation moving smoothly and all took the break at once, cutting productivity at some terminals by 10 to 15 percent, said PMA spokesman Steve Getzug.
ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees discounted the union actions in Tacoma and Southern California, saying that the PMA was “making a mountain out of a molehill.” The actions are not that significant, he said, adding that folks need to stay focused on getting the job done at the bargaining table. Both Steve Getzug and Merrilees said talks between the two sides seem to be moving forward. Still any kind of disruption comes at a sensitive time for West Coast ports and the union, as shippers continue to look at their options. Fairly or unfairly, the West Coast has developed a reputation among shippers for congestion and labor instability.
Still pending is the PMA request to the National Labor Relations Board for the labor agency to file a charge against the ILWU over the May Day shutdown of West Coast ports for one shift by union workers as a protest against the war in Iraq. The complaint filed on May 27 said the protest constituted an unlawful secondary boycott, since the union did not have a labor dispute with the PMA. The union earlier had requested a stop-work day for the protest, but the PMA refused. The ILWU has contended that individual members chose not to work that day in order to exercise their First Amendment rights, a contention rejected by the PMA.
Copyright 2008 The Cunningham Report