U.S. West Coast shippers invoke specter of port shutdowns

Reuters ^ | Wed Feb 4, 2015 10:21pm EST | By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Port of Los Angeles is seen at dawn in San Pedro, California in this August 20, 2014 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson/Files

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The chief labor negotiator for shippers and terminal operators at 29 U.S. West Coast ports raised the ante in contract talks with the dockworkers' union on Wednesday, warning that ports plagued by chronic cargo slowdowns were days away from complete gridlock.

But union officials downplayed the potential for shutdowns, suggesting management was exaggerating a crisis as a late-hour negotiation ploy, and countered that the two sides were already close to a settlement.

The contract talks, joined in recent weeks by a federal mediator, have coincided with protracted cargo backups hampering freight traffic through waterfronts handling nearly half of U.S. maritime trade and more than 70 percent of imports from Asia.

The companies have repeatedly accused the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents 20,000 dockworkers, of deliberately orchestrating work slowdowns at the ports to gain leverage at the bargaining table.

The union has denied this and faulted the carriers themselves for the congestion, citing numerous changes in shipping practices singled out by port authorities as contributing factors.

A settlement was thought to be at hand last week after nearly nine months of talks following a breakthrough agreement on a key point of contention: maintenance and control of freight chassis used to haul cargo from ports to warehouses. In August, the parties announced a deal on healthcare benefits.

[Parmy]

I think that in the interest of National Security, perhaps this union should be shut down.

[PGR88]

unions have been making life miserable at all West Coast ports for weeks. They know they can engage in all kind of economically destructive behavior because they know the mood in Washington - Obama has their back.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And these guys are very well paid I believe.

[UnwashedPeasant]

Organized criminals.

They should be replaced by robots.

Their booty should be taxed 100%.

[headstamp 2]

There will be ports on the west coast of Mexico that will gladly accept the cargo. Then the Mexican truck drivers can run it right up to the USA over the southern border.

See how that works?

Another idiot union cutting off it’s nose to spite its face.

[barmag25]

I know a longshoreman who drives a short bus transporting workers from the time clock to their work station and makes over 100k a year working about 50 hours a week.

They are very well paid

[Jack Hydrazine]

They’re making up to $160,000 a year plus bennies. One of those bennies is medical care which costs the employer about $35,000/year/worker.

[American in Israel]

Since they obviously cannot do their jobs, fire them all. Plenty of Americans want jobs.

[PGR88]

The association of shipping lines, terminal operators and stevedores made public details of its contract offer, including 3 percent annual raises over five years, retaining employer-paid health care, all Obamacare “Cadillac Health Care Taxes” to be paid by the terminal operators, and raising pensions by 11 percent.

The average dockworker now makes $147,000 a year in salary, plus $35,000 a year in employer-paid health care, and an annual pension already at $80,000, according to an association press release.

[21twelve]

I’m pretty sure that their wages are a mulitplier of the minimum wage as well. A $15 “living wage” is sold as that. What is really driving it is the unions that are making minimum wage times 2 to 6.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I may be mistaken(FReepers will let me know if I am!) but I’ve read the CHINESE government controls the ports in Long Beach.

I see visions of the Chinese People’s Army coming in and machinegunning the strikers, replacing them with whoever wants to work-cheap!

yeah, I know it really won’t happen.

[factoryrat]

Something that may or may not be related, but I seen somewhere that intermodal volume through Long Beach and Oakland hit record levels last year. As a result, the railroad that I work for has hauled a record level of carloads out of almost all of the west coast ports, and it isn’t letting up for the forseeable future. And that doesn’t count the export shipments.

[Jack Hydrazine]

What’s really driving it even more so is that the union bosses need a raise!

[central_va]

Actually this is a type of importation quota. I like it. We can all wait for our Chinese cheap crap to hit the shelves it has no economic impact on the USA.

[Carry_Okie]

And these guys are very well paid I believe.

Beyond well paid.