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Retailers and manufacturers seek White House mediation as heated labor talks at US West Coast ports raise fears of shipping disruptions during holiday shopping seasons
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Day-shift work at Port of Long Beach’s largest terminal halted Monday as dockworkers rallied for better pay
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More than 22,000 port workers in California and Washington state ports remain without job contracts as the negotiations have dragged on since last July
Major United States retailers and manufacturers appealed on Monday, June 5, for White House intervention as port workers flex muscles as contract negotiations at West Coast ports drag on, raising worries about a deadlock that would disrupt shipping during critical holiday shopping seasons.
The call from the National Retail Federation, whose members include leading US retailers and manufacturers, followed the closure of the day shift on Monday as dock workers at the largest terminal at the Port of Long Beach rallied for better pay, Reuters reported.
The newswire said Monday’s temporary closure followed similar disruptions last Friday in the Port of Oakland, California.
Dockworker absences on Friday forced several terminals to halt operations and impacted cargo flows at other facilities, The Loadstar shipping newspaper reported. It said the action affected terminals at Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the ports of Oakland, Hueneme and Seattle.
The newspaper said Oakland’s two international terminals shut down, as did the Matson terminal, which handles predominantly domestic freight, as there were not enough workers to move containers.
At the crux of the talks is the future of more than 22,000 dockworkers at ports stretching from California to Washington state who have been working without a contract since last July.
The employers’ group Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and workers’ International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) are in the final stretch of their contract negotiations that have been going on for more than a year.
“We urge the administration to mediate to ensure the parties quickly finalize a new contract without additional disruptions,” said David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation.
NRF members make up an industry that accounts for about half of the volume at US container ports and is gearing up for back-to-school, Christmas and other key sales events.
Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero urged both the ILWU and PMA “to continue negotiating in good faith toward a fair agreement”. The Retail Industry Leaders Association echoed this appeal and urged the federal government to intervene if there is no progress, Loadstar reported.
“If this work stoppage drags on and contract negotiations continue to falter, the Biden-Harris administration must step in and broker a deal,” said supply chain executive Jessica Dankert.
Elsewhere, National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons on Twitter also implored the White House to act, Reuters reported.
The Port of Long Beach’s Total Terminals International LLC (TTI) canceled daytime appointments on Monday, but planned to reopen for the evening shift starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, port spokesman Lee Peterson said. TTI is majority owned by container shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company SA (MSC).
All terminals were open on Monday at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest, and at Oakland, California, the news agency said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration continues to closely monitor the situation and encourages all sides to work to reach a fair contract.
“They have overcome some major sticking points already and are continuing to address (the) most difficult issues right now,” Jean-Pierre said of employers and the union.
Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su is reportedly engaging actively with the parties, Reuters said. There are fears that a deadlock in the talks would make shippers rethink a return to the West Coast ports.
ILWU International president Willie Adams said on Friday that dockworkers played a vital role in keeping goods moving in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and would like to share in the record profits reaped when cargo surged.
“We aren’t going to settle for an economic ILWU package that doesn’t recognize the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce that lifted the shipping industry to record profits,” Adams said.
On Twitter, ILWU said in a statement: “PMA member carriers and terminal operators made historic profits of $510 billion during the pandemic. In some cases, profits jumped nearly 1,000%. Even as shipping volumes return to normal in 2023, PMA members have continued to post revenues that far exceed pre-pandemic times by billions of dollars.”
“Despite this fact, from pre-pandemic levels through 2022, the percentage of ILWU wages and benefits continued to drop compared to PMA rising revenues.”
