ILWU, port employers discuss clerk contracts, as congestion mounts
The union representing port clerks in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the port employers’ organization Pacific Maritime Association are discussing new contracts and the introduction of more automation, as congestion mounts in the busiest port complex in the United States.
Reuters reported that both sides reached “a tentative contract agreement” on Friday, averting a strike.
Officials for the Local 63 Office Clerical Unit, which is supported by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), have asked for guarantees of job security for port clerks.
The ILWU said in an announcement over the weekend it has presented “a sweeping proposal on technology” to the Pacific Maritime Association in an attempt to break the stalemate surrounding the West Coast longshore contract negotiations. Under the union proposal, the Pacific Maritime Association would be able to introduce computer technology for the free flow of information, in return for ILWU gaining jurisdiction over additional jobs and employees obtaining “economic enhancements” as modeled on the 1960 Mechanization and Modernization Agreement.
The union performs about 50 percent of the ports’ operational planning work on the West Coast, with the other 50 percent outsourced to non-bargaining unit workforces. It wants jurisdiction over all such jobs.
The union said its proposal would allow information from outside computer systems to flow directly into terminal operating systems at West Coast ports, without the need for the information to be “rekeyed.”
In exchange for this concession, the union wants to perform all the clerk jobs that remain. These include any new jobs that technology creates, the terminal control and pre-gate supervisor jobs, and the work of planning ships, rails and container yards.
“The union has stepped up and changed the jurisdiction section of our contract dramatically,” said Jim Spinosa, ILWU president.
The employers' response was not known at the time of writing.
In a separate development, the National Industrial Transportation League said in a news bulletin Friday that port congestion in Los Angeles and Long Beach remains a concern, with cargo delays ranging from 12 to 72 hours.
It said the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continue to experience congestion brought on by multiple factors. “These include an exceptionally strong volume of freight, issues associated with rail capacity to move containers inland, and labor shortages, potential labor disputes and trucker concern over fuel costs,” the NIT League said.
The League cited a Pacific Maritime Association report that it expected to be 80 gangs “short” for meeting labor orders for the day shift last Friday.