Are California Port Crane Operators “Lazy” Or Being Used As Scapegoats?

Frustration over the historic logjams at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have descended into finger-pointing matches, and even cane operators are under fire.

Recent reports about alleged “lazy crane operators” appear completely misguided in terms of why the California ports have struggled with as many as 80 cargo ships anchored off the coast in supply chain limbo. The reports targeting crane operators possess all the telltale signs of a hatchet job. And the allegations come right on the heels of the White House announcing the Port of Los Angeles will open 24-7 and relieve the bottleneck of goods and materials.

Freight and logistics experts have already gone on the record pointing out the fact-based reasons a more comprehensive solution is needed. With splashy headlines calling the men and women who move containers from ships to 18-wheelers “lazy” and claiming they make a quarter-million in annual salary, D.C.-based Washington Examiner, among others, appears to be shopping for a scapegoat after floating quotes such as the following.

“In 15 years of doing this job, I’ve never seen them work slower,” an individual identified only as “Antonio” reportedly said. “The crane operators take their time, like three to four hours to get just one container. You can’t say anything to them, or they will just go (help) someone else.”

The media smear job fails to identify the source fully but indicates the person waited hours for cargo to get loaded. Another six anonymous or first-name-only sources deployed by the Washington Examiners claims truckers called the cane operators lazy. But the knife through the heart comes by insinuating crane operators are overpaid and get away with shirking their responsibilities because they belong to a union.

“The crane operators are part of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which also represents longshoremen. Veteran operators who have a set schedule make $65 an hour and are paid for up to 4,000 hours per year, which include hours they don’t actually work,” The Washington Examiner reportedly stated.

In the spirit of “click-bait” journalism, the hit-piece frontloads the subjective criticism of port crane operators and then backloads facts produced by officials at the ILWU.

“The Port of Los Angeles broke two Western Hemisphere cargo volume records — one in May when it processed over 1 million TEUs — representing the ports busiest month in its 114-year history, and the other for moving over 10 million TEUs in a single year,” Jennifer Sargent Bokaie, ILWU communications official, reportedly said. “In addition to the work taking place at the Port of Los Angeles, the Ports of Long Beach, Oakland, and the Northwest Seaport have also broken records throughout the summer and continue today to move cargo as quickly as the off-port supply chain will allow.”

Logistics and freight industry insiders generally understand the supply chain crunch has little to do with crane operators. Perhaps politicians and media outlets in Washington, D.C., could educate themselves before targeting hard-working men and women.

Source: news.yahoo.com