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ILWU actions slowing handling by 20-30%:
PMA
Date: July 16, 2008 4:17:52 PM
Stephanie Nall / Pacific Shipper
Tensions in negotiations over a new West Coast
longshore contract continued to rise as employers accused union
employees of slowdown tactics they say have lowered productivity
by 20 percent to 30 percent at the ports of Los Angeles and Long
Beach.
A six-year labor contract between carriers and
terminal operators and members of the International Longshore
and Warehouse Union expired July 1. According to spokesmen for
the union and the Pacific Maritime Association representing employers,
the two sides remain in “good talks” but no progress
has been reported on a new multi-year contract.
An ILWU caucus that began Monday with the intention
of reviewing a contract agreement has been recessed until there
is a tentative pact.
Union members in Southern California since July
11 have been taking simultaneous 15-minute coffee breaks, instead
of staggered breaks, slowing the flow of cargo handling. PMA officials
said the "unit breaks" lowered productivity by 10 percent
to 15 percent and that more slow-down efforts became evident July
15.
“We’ve noticed activity at Los Angeles
and Long Beach that concerns us,” said Steve Getzug, spokeman
for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers.
“There was a productivity fall-off on Tuesday of 20-30 percent.
They are driving the tractors inside the terminals at a slower
speed and 'floating the load' a little longer than necessary.
They are little things but added together are slowing things down
incrementally.”
'Floating the load' refers to the time a container
is suspended from a crane while being loaded onto or unloaded
from a vessel.
Getzug said that the concern is not just what
is happening at the terminals right now, but also the pattern
that is emerging -- and its similarity to ILWU actions in past
negotiations.
Because the ILWU refused to extend the expired
contract, employers have no mechanism to police slowdown activity.
The union has said the breaks are nothing more
than a "modest and measured expression" of workers'
concern over the talks.
But Getzug said that such changes in work schedules
should be done collaboratively, not unilaterally. “In the
past, unit breaks have been ruled an illegal work action in Southern
California. But without a contract, we can’t challenge the
practice."
He said the carriers and terminal operators
are hearing from customers who are concerned about the slowed
pace in Southern California.
“They understand the history behind
this and what the slowdown tactics can mean. Our customers also
understand what these disruptions can mean to an economy at a
time when we can least afford it.”
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