Longshore labor

Officials from the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance have had “discussions about discussions” in recent months about a contract extension that would focus primarily on wage levels.

An investigation into Australia’s shipping sector follows months of disruption to supply chains due to port congestion, stevedore industrial action, and curtailed carrier services.

Despite ILWU leadership pledging to support the Biden administration’s efforts to decongest ports in Southern California, insiders remain worried the national spotlight on ports will not prevent labor disruption on the docks next year.

Tension is mounting on the West Coast as the ILWU formally rejected an employer offer to extend the existing coastwide contract for one year beyond the July 1, 2022 expiration date.

HMM’s unionized staff, operating around half of HMM’s container ship fleet, had voted in favor of a strike in August if no agreement was reached, while around 300 seafarers had signed resignation letters and threatened to join rival carriers.

The current US West Coast dockworker contract will expire next July, leaving negotiations for a new contract to take place amid a predicted atmosphere of constrained capacity and high rates.

With David Tolan as the first and longtime chairman of the Carriers’ Cooperation Council, longshore labor relations on the East and Gulf Coasts entered a prolonged peaceful period that continues today.

Fluctuating vessel schedules and delays at ports and inland terminals are contributing to rising costs for perishable food shippers across supply chain modes.

Despite contract language allowing automation, the ILWU has increasingly come to see automation as an existential threat and a microcosm of the larger threat of robotics displacing human labor.

Striking longshore workers at the Port of Montreal said a bill that passed Canada’s lower legislative house requiring them to submit to mediation with maritime employers was unwelcome.

Montreal’s dockworkers want to block federal intervention into their strike but offer to return to work if terminal operators agree to roll back a schedule change and other concessions.

Longshore workers at the Port of Montreal are planning an indefinite strike starting Monday after maritime employers changed their schedules to require seven-hour shifts rather than five.

The International Longshoremen’s Association alleged the first ship call at the Port of Charleston’s Leatherman Terminal violated a contract governing longshore work along the East Coast.

The ILWU and their employers have made significant progress in increasing the labor supply in Los Angeles-Long Beach, but hiring and training will continue indefinitely amid growing cargo volumes and a continued shortage of skilled workers.

In what is expected to trigger a labor response, Montreal employers say they’re suspending guaranteed income pay after port tonnage fell 11 percent last month owing to cargo diversions amid a long-running dispute.

A vaccination drive for longshore workers in the Port of New York-New Jersey aims to bring the workforce back up to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Montreal dockworkers will remain on the job while looking to go back to the negotiating table after rejecting the latest contract offer from maritime employers.

The dispute at the Port of Charleston is a rare flare-up in what has been a mostly peaceful longshore labor environment on the East and Gulf coasts over many years.

A ruling by the industrial relations tribunal in Canada reduces the chances of federal intervention if Montreal longshore workers vote Sunday against a proposed new contract and then strike.

The opening of a large vaccination site at the Port of Los Angeles is expected to contribute immediately to greater labor availability in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex.

The latest walkout action at Australia’s automated terminal in Melbourne furthers test the port system marked by berth congestion amid surging import demand

As COVID-19 infection rates rise, transport and maritime officials are urging that supply chain workers be given priority for vaccines, saying their health is essential to keeping goods moving throughout the US.

DP World and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) say they expect to finalize an employment agreement covering the terminal operator's Port Botany facility in Sydney next week.

The latest strike action and low expectations among employers that the federal government will intervene suggests Canada’s second-largest port faces a protracted disruption.

Observers say the port strike, if it drags on, could create lasting damage to the Port of Montreal, which handles a significant volume of discretionary cargo able to move through other ports.

The alleged attack in Montreal comes as dock workers are in the midst of a four-day strike, with port checkers due to launch their own job action Saturday.

The latest strike action raises concerns that port clerk and longshore will launch consecutive strikes at Montreal, the second-largest East Coast port.

The second strike action in less than two months at the second-largest Canadian container port bodes poorly for longshore workers and employers agreeing to a new contract soon.

ILWU’s monthly stop-work meeting to discuss union matters moved to June 19 day shift as West Coast longshoremen honor slain African-American George Floyd.

Proponents of reducing the Waterfront Commission role have argued the commission oversteps its authority to combat crime on the docks and slows down hiring.

Sources say there is little doubt that automation will be a major issue for the ILWU when negotiations begin, likely in early 2022. The question is how hard it will press the issue.

The head of the Pacific Maritime Association is instructing members to report all health incidents through an online portal after ILWU workers refused to enter Terminal 18 Monday, citing fear of coronavirus contamination.

Longshore unions continue to assign work through hiring halls on the East, Gulf and West coasts as the unions balance the need for safety measures that protect workers from COVID-19 with the demands of keeping ports open and efficient.

Judge Michael H. Simon will contact the ILWU and ICTSI about setting up a new trial to determine the amount of the award.

Portland judge reduces $93.6 million jury award against ILWU to $19 million, possibly bringing an end in sight to a legal battle that started with job actions that began in 2012.

Australian shippers are breathing a sigh of relief, at least for now, after a court order was issued preventing longshore workers from striking against DP World Australia amid an ongoing 16-month contract dispute.

A court showdown between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union and the former operator of Portland’s container terminal is set for Feb. 14. The ILWU will argue the $93.6 million jury award it faces for work slowdowns at the port between 2013-2017 is unjustified.

Long Beach Container Terminal, which included the ILWU in the planning process for its fully-automated terminal right from the beginning, has avoided the labor pushback that can complicate the introduction of automation at marine terminals.

West Coast employers are somewhat hopeful the ILWU will view the unprecedented $93 million judgment in Portland as a wakeup call to improve labor relations and stop the bleed of cargo to ports on other coasts.

How the US and Canadian governments respond to anti-automation pressure from longshore unions will have ramifications beyond the shaping of public perception, affecting everything from permitting processes to federal grant funding for autonomous equipment upgrades.