The International Longshore and Warehouse Union recently rejected a proposal to delay contract negotiations until 2023, setting up a potential work stoppage at West Coast ports in the coming months.
“There may be a battle in 2022,” union president Willie Adams reportedly said. “Be prepared.”
Private corporations from Washington State to Southern California rely on more than 22,400 dockworkers in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to keep the supply chain moving. The union traditionally renegotiates its members’ contract every six years, and the current terms expire in July after agreeing to an extension in 2019.
“The employer is now asking for an extension to that extension,” Adams reportedly said. “We’ve been waiting for seven years to address issues that are important to dockworkers.”
The ILWU wants to engage in talks beginning early in 2022 as its rank-and-file enjoys a position of strength. By contrast, the notion of paying significantly higher wages during unprecedented port activity has corporate decision-makers looking to minimize salary increases. Industry insiders see the current situation escalating between two sides that have historically engaged in protracted and hostile standoffs.
In 2019, the ILWU agreed to a 3-year extension, which ranks among the reasons it quickly rebuffed another extension through 2023. Although Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have made splashy headlines over bottlenecks, the facilities have also generated enormous profits. According to the Wall Street Journal, the APM Terminals located at the Port of Los Angeles earned a $5.44 billion profit for the third quarter alone. That record-breaking profit stems from just one of many companies that have cashed in on surging imports.
“These profits show why collective bargaining is necessary and hugely beneficial for America’s economy,” Adams reportedly said.
The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), representing 70 ocean carriers and West Coast port terminals, expressed concern that another labor dispute would upend the supply chain and send shockwaves across the U.S. and global economy. Those fears are well-founded based on the stifling effects the last contract had on ports. PMA reported that productivity sunk to 50 percent as union-management disagreements dragged on for nine months. Owner-operators, freight carriers, retailers, and consumers across the country could very well hear the phrase uttered by the ILWU in 2015 — “congestion crisis.”
Freight and logistics insiders appear to be vigilantly watching the fast-approaching contract negotiations. West Coast ports are already overwhelmed, and a union strike could prove disastrous for wide-reaching industries. Fearing further supply chain upheaval, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has already weighed in with the parties in an effort to avert another round of shutdowns like those that occurred during the last negotiation, as well as in 2002.
“If need be and I’m asked, I would definitely step in anytime to offer my support to try and get to resolution,” Walsh reportedly said.
Owner-operators and freight hauling operations would be well-served to monitor any disputes that arise closely. Truckers may need to pivot and secure loads elsewhere if negotiations go poorly.
Sources: wsj.com, reuters.com
Another extension would be a no for any labor union right now if they where smart. Perfect time for the Teamsters to organize drivers as well.
It is time to say no and rebuild and make things here again in the US
If these port drivers would just park their sturcks and stay home for a few weeks they could own the harbor. Too bad it will never happen. Bunch of dummies who have proved their stupidity for 40 years. They’ve had opportunity after opportunity yet just whine their way to the bottom.
The foreign steamship lines laugh all the way to the bank, along with the scum-sucking exploiting trucking companies who claim the truckers are independent contractors…and like it that way.
The rich will get richer. And everyone lets it happen. We have the same power to change things. But we will never do so. If we all parked for 2 weeks, we would get the things we ask for. Like better wages, safe/ plentiful parking and less mandates. But will it ever happen. I highly doubt it. People just want to complain rather than act on those complaints.
Those unions don’t seem to understand that those record profits won’t last forever. They’ll get their raise (probably 25%, because that how greedy the are), then conditions return to normal, and now the ports are losing money because of those huge raise, and in a few years they go bankrupt. That is the standard fair for unions keep demanding higher and excessive pay, until the company goes bankrupt.