Longshore labor

UPDATED: 4:15 EDT International Longshoremen’s Association officials broke off two days of scheduled negotiations on a local contract for New York-New Jersey dockworkers after objecting to employers’ proposed changes.

The International Longshoremen’s Association and the New York Shipping Association have resumed negotiations this week on a local contract including work rules in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

West Coast container volumes in November declined 6 percent compared to November 2011, reflecting the impact the strike by office clerical workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach had on business at the ports.

The International Longshoremen’s Association and its employers are shifting their attention to work rules now that a deal on container royalties has averted an East and Gulf Coast dockworker strike.

UPDATED, 7 p.m. EDT, Friday The union and waterfront employers agreed to extend the ILA master contract through Feb. 6, preventing a threatened strike at ports from Maine to Texas.

Grain terminal operators in the Pacific Northwest notified the International Longshore and Warehouse Union that they will implement at 6 a.m. Thursday the employers’ final offer that was rejected by the union over the weekend.

Representatives of the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance have accepted a federal mediator’s invitation to meet this week in a last-ditch effort to head off an ILA strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.

East and Gulf Coast ports are clearing cargo from marine terminals in preparation for next week’s threatened dockworker strike as a negotiating standoff continues.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers in the Pacific Northwest are voting Friday and Saturday on a proposed grain handlers contract that could determine whether the dockworkers remain on the job or are locked out by international grain companies.

A coalition of more than 100 business organizations from across the United States urged President Obama to take "immediate action" to prevent the International Longshoremen’s Association from striking when its contract expires Dec. 29.

The National Retail Federation and more than 100 national and state associations today sent a letter to President Obama to urge the administration to ensure that an International Longshoremen’s Association strike does not occur.

With contract negotiations at an impasse, International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett has directed ILA locals to prepare for a Dec. 30 strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.

Failure of the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance to extend their contract negotiations raises the likelihood of a Maine-to-Texas dock strike at year-end.

Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, today urged the U.S. Senate to pass the pending Hurricane Disaster Relief Appropriations Act to help regions affected by...

Contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance broke off today, raising the likelihood of a Maine-to-Texas dock strike at year-end.

The International Transport Workers Federation joined the UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union in calling for reforms from global retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Sears...

Representatives of the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance resumed negotiations today...

Grain terminal operators in the Pacific Northwest on Monday rejected a contract proposal from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, setting up a union vote this weekend on an employer proposal that union leaders have already said they do not like.

Montreal’s Maritime Employers Association is conducting its own negotiations with ILA locals 375 and 1657 for renewal of the contract that expires on Dec. 31, but the contract likely would be extended if they don’t reach agreement by year-end.

The common thread running through all labor actions on the waterfront is a realization that technology and automation is changing the workplace union members have known throughout their careers, and some of the high-paying waterfront jobs that have traditionally been passed down from father to sons, daughters and grandchildren may no longer be available to pass on.

The federal mediator overseeing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and six grain terminal operators in the Pacific Northwest said two days of talks concluded Wednesday with no settlement.

International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett said a meeting with management negotiators next week on the issue of container royalties will determine whether the ILA carries through on its threat of a year-end strike.

A Journal of Commerce survey found that cargo owners are flustered by the eight-day office clerical workers strike last month in Los Angeles-Long Beach, and the possibility of an East and Gulf Coast dockworker strike three weeks from now, but cargo diversion is not an option for many shippers.

Representatives of the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance met in small committees Tuesday to discuss and refine the two sides’ proposals in federally mediated talks.

Terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach late last week ran night and weekend gates to work off much the cargo that was backed up at the ports after an eight-day office clerical workers strike, so Monday was not as bad as some had feared.

International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett won authorization from ILA delegates to call a strike if a bargaining impasse isn’t settled before the union’s contract expires Dec. 29.

Grain terminal operators in the Pacific Northwest on Saturday agreed to enter mediation with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union next week in an attempt to avoid a strike or lockout.

Grain terminal operators and longshoremen early Saturday indicated that grain would keep moving when the current contract extension expires at 5 p.m.

The International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance will meet on Monday to resume contract negotiations amid growing concern about a Maine-to-Texas dock strike to start in 2013.

The South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District of the International Longshoremen’s Association have donated $250,000 to ILA’s Hurricane Sandy Fund.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are making adjustments in their operations in an effort to reduce the economic impact that the eight-day office clerical workers strike will have on port customers.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association and National Retail Federation have urged the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance to reach...