UPDATE: Employers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association, said Sunday, “Labor has been filling positions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and work at the terminals has resumed.”
Workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are withholding their labor, employers said, forcing terminal closures on the West Coast as contract negotiations drag on.
Currently, four of the six terminals at Long Beach are temporarily shut, according to Reuters. The closures come amid protracted negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), representing employers, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
The ILWU represents more than 22,000 workers at 29 ports along the U.S. West Coast, who have been working without a contract since the last one expired in July.
“Retailers throughout the country depend on U.S. ports to support their daily business needs,” National Retail Federation (NRF) Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French said in a statement Friday. “The West Coast ports, especially those in Los Angeles and Long Beach, are a pivotal entry point to the United States that allow American consumers access to global products and essential goods. NRF is closely monitoring the situation in California and has reiterated its concerns to the White House.”
The PMA said in a statement provided to SES that most of the workers for last night’s shift did not report. That included all equipment operators handling container loading and unloading. The PMA said workers who did show up for their shift last night were released due to there not being enough labor to operate the terminals. The same occurred for the shift Friday morning, the PMA said.
“The action by the union has effectively shut down the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest gateway for maritime trade in the United States,” the PMA said Friday. “The union’s coordinated actions are occurring while negotiations for a new coast-wide contract continue. This latest work action comes three weeks after ILWU Local 13 in Southern California stopped complying with a contract provision providing employers the right to assign staggered shifts during meal periods.”
A spokesperson for the ILWU declined comment and referred inquiries to ILWU Local 13, which represents the Los Angeles and Long Beach workers. A call to the local was not immediately returned Friday.
French of the NRF called on employers and the union to work to “immediately” resolve negotiations and urged the Biden administration to help in the contract dispute to avoid further cargo movement disruption.
“These actions undermine confidence in West Coast ports and threaten to further accelerate the diversion of discretionary cargo to Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports,” the PMA said. “The health of the Southern California and state economy depend on the ability of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to stem this market share erosion.”
Concerns the negotiations could impact the flow of containers on the West Coast had many companies diverting their cargo to East and Gulf coast ports last year in a bid to avoid possible shipping issues. The diversions led to record numbers at some ports, including the Port of New York and New Jersey. Meanwhile, port leaders on the West Coast have been working on bringing business back to their facilities.
Labor and employers have offered little in the way of updates outside of joint statements, the most recent of which was released in late February when the two groups reiterated their decision not to discuss negotiations publicly and said they “remained hopeful of reaching a deal soon.”
The two sides have confirmed previously, however, that they’ve agreed on worker health benefits.
Automation has long been mentioned as a sticking point between the two sides.
Kari Hamanaka can be reached at kari@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
