-Managing Editor-
Federal mediators will assist in stalled West Coast port contract talks between dockworkers and their employers, following a joint request from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and private terminal operators Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), according to Long Beach Port officials. The U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced on Monday, Jan. 5 that it would intervene.
Pressure, both political and financial, had been mounting as each party faulted the other for the sluggish movement of billions of dollars of cargo across the docks at 29 seaports that form a vital trade link with Asia, according to the Associated Press (AP).
“We congratulate the ILWU and PMA for both agreeing to mediation,” said Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup on Tuesday. “We urgently need a resolution to their long contract negotiations so they can join all of our industry stakeholders in restoring and improving productivity at all West Coast ports.”
Earlier in the day Monday, before the federal mediator had announced its involvement, U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) released a statement urging the ILWU and PMA to “redouble efforts on contract talks” without third-party intervention.
“Our local, regional, and national economies— to the tune of more than $1 billion a day— depend on the efficient and timely flow of goods through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,” Lowenthal said. “I firmly believe that the ILWU and the PMA should be allowed to conclude their negotiations without outside intervention and urge both sides to stay at the table to reach a new contract quickly.”
“Furthermore, while negotiations continue, actions that make the congestion at the ports worse will do little to speed along a contract agreement and only further impact the economy,” Lowenthal said. “The unilateral steps taken by the PMA over the weekend to eliminate up to two-thirds of the nighttime labor at the Los Angeles-Long Beach ports will increase congestion and eliminate work for hundreds of dock workers who have to support their families.”
Lowenthal urged both sides to aggressively pursue an agreement that can be speedily approved by all sides. “Once the labor issues have been resolved, we can then focus on the overriding causes of congestion at the ports— namely, the shortage of chassis and the massive increases in container traffic,” he said.
Although the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service’s involvement does not indicate an immediate return to normalcy at the sea ports, mediation has been pivotal in previous contract disputes, the AP reported.
Ports from San Diego to Seattle processed $892 billion in imports and exports in 2013, according to U.S. trade data, and the largest ports are in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
As the economy has improved, cargo has increased, leading to problems transporting it efficiently to its destinations, according to the AP.
Last week, the Port of Long Beach reported that its Temporary Empty Container Depot on Pier S had been opened, ready to provide a convenient means for truckers to free up truck-trailer chassis they need to move loaded containers out of marine terminals.
Ongoing congestion caused in part by a lack of available chassis— the wheeled frames used to move shipping containers on the road— had led to delays in shipments. The depot allows chassis to return to servicing the terminals more quickly, according to Port officials. That depot is scheduled to close March 31, 2015.
