Longshore labor

It’s too late for some retailers depending on shipments through West Coast ports. If they have no contingency plans for a potential strike or slowdown tied to International Longshore and Warehouse Union negotiations, they sit with fingers crossed.

A shortage of seafarers in the officer corps is expected to worsen, threatening carriers’ bottom lines, according to Drewry’s recently published Manning 2014 Annual Report.

A port shutdown due to an impasse in ILWU contract negotiations would be disastrous for agricultural exporters in the short term, but the loss of business resulting from a failure to address persistent productivity issues would be even more damaging to West Coast ports and dockworkers in the long term, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition said today.

Canada’s Minister of Labor Kellie Leitch is heading to Vancouver, British Columbia, tonight to mediate a labor dispute between Seaspan and two tugboat unions that guide ships into and out of the port, in the hopes of avoiding a strike.

The trade community is looking to the negotiations in San Francisco to see if an agreement will be reached without disruptions at West Coast ports.

Finnish ports are at a standstill today after dockworkers walked off the job.

Global Terminal has defused a labor issue at its new semi-automated container terminal by redesigning a trucker safety device that the International Longshoremen’s Association had claimed jurisdiction to operate.

A nationwide dockworker strike is planned to begin on June 10 in Brazil, according to maritime services provider Inchcape Shipping Services.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association say contract negotiations are continuing without interruption.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has nominated Michael Murphy, a lobbyist and former county prosecutor, to the Waterfront Commisson of New York Harbor.

Longshoremen engaged in illegal work slowdowns at the Port of Portland from September 2012 to June 2013 as they were contesting jurisdiction for jobs handling refrigerated containers, a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge ruled at the weekend.

Six former International Longshoremen’s Association officials and members have admitted participating in a “Christmas tribute” racket in which dockworkers were pressured into making annual payments that were funneled to organized crime.

Negotiations are underway for a new contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association. This JOC resource provides answers to common questions regarding the negotiations and their potential impact.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is seeking a contract for just three years, according to Agriculture Transportation Coalition Executive Director Peter Friedmann, commenting today.

Two-thirds of shippers who participated in a JOC survey this week plan to divert at least some cargo away from U.S. West Coast ports to avoid disruption that could emerge from contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and West Coast employers.

Contract negotiators between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association began yesterday on an upbeat note.

On the eve of U.S. West Coast longshore labor negotiations, a coalition of 67 organizations representing manufacturers, farmers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, transportation and logistics providers is urging negotiators to agree on a new waterfront contract without any work stoppages.

WASHINGTON — The largest U.S. shipper group doesn’t expect a strike or lockout at the nation’s West Coast ports but is telling members to expect picketing and even labor slowdowns.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is claiming jurisdiction over operation of a safety device for truckers picking up containers from rail-mounted gantry cranes at Global Terminal’s new semi-automated facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett called the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey a “lap dog” for the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and said the port agency “should look in the mirror before casting aspersions on others.”

A bitter dispute over hiring of International Longshoremen’s Association dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey has flared up again.

A Baltimore jury will hear dueling assault complaints stemming from a fight between two International Longshoremen’s Association officials whose local union is in a contract negotiations standoff with port employers.

Pacific Maritime Association President Jim McKenna said today the U.S. West Coast employers’ organization will begin contract negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on May 12, an announcement that should silence calls from retailers urging an early start to negotiations.

The National Retail Federation urged the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and its West Coast employers to start contract negotiations immediately and to keep bargaining even if they don’t reach a deal before the current agreement expires June 30.

A standoff continues between Baltimore port employers and the International Longshoremen’s Association over a local contract covering non-containerized breakbulk and automobile shipments.

The International Labor Organization voted to support amending an international labor convention by requiring shipowners to provide financial security to compensate seafarers abandoned at ports away from their native countries.

As West Coast waterfront employers prepare to enter contract negotiations in May with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, their message to the ILWU is clear: The new contract must keep West Coast ports competitive in the battle among North American ports for discretionary cargo.

NEWPORT, R.I. — Retailers are stepping up their criticism of management and labor in the upcoming West Coast longshore negotiations, saying they should give shippers the predictability they are looking for by using the time between now and the June 30th contract expiration to get a deal done.

WASHINGTON — A group representing agricultural shippers and forwarders has warned members to prepare for labor disruptions and slowdowns at U.S West Coast ports starting in June and to make contingency plans

Striking truck drivers late yesterday reached an agreement with Port Metro Vancouver, the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of British Columbia...

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor has authorized New York-New Jersey port employers to hire 150 additional longshoremen.

Several hundred New York-New Jersey longshoremen halted work for two hours today to cheer union, business and political officials who denounced the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and urged repeal of the commission’s authority over dockworker hiring.

Truck traffic at Port Metro Vancouver continued to increase over the weekend, but still remained below normal as the maritime community anticipated introduction of back-to-work legislation today...

Some New York-New Jersey dockworkers will delay their scheduled April 1 retirements in a stopgap move to ease a labor shortage at the port.

With few signs of striking truckers and Port Metro Vancouver reaching a deal, the provincial government of British Columbia said it will introduce back-to-work legislation as soon as March 24.

In an effort to turn up the heat on striking truckers, Port Metro Vancouver has announced it will not renew port-issued licenses and permits that are set to expire soon...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says cargo diverted to U.S. Pacific Northwest ports because of the truck driver strike in Vancouver, British Columbia...

Port Metro Vancouver edged closer today to suspending and possibly revoking the licenses of the striking truck drivers who are crippling commerce at Canada’s largest port.