Longshore talks’ kickstart continues following earlier disruption impacting LA, Long Beach ports

A temporary ship backlog earlier this week caused by a lack of longshore workers has been resolved, a port source said on Friday, June 9.

“Port of L.A. container terminals are all open and operating with appropriate levels of staffing,” said Port of Los Angeles spokesperson Phillip Sanfield. “The Marine Exchange has advised that delays from earlier in the week have been cleared up.”

Talks cut off on June 1 but resumed June 6 in San Francisco as the 13-month-long negotiations crawl toward a contract resolution for some 22,000 West Coast dockworkers at 29 ports. Issues under negotiation include health and other benefits, wages, and the anticipated ramifications of terminal automation.

In a statement released Friday, the Pacific Maritime Association, representing employers, said operations “have generally improved at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland. However, the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma continue to suffer significant slowdowns as a result of targeted ILWU work actions.”

A spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said the union would have no response to the PMA statement on Friday.

Also on Friday, the Marine Exchange of Southern California sent out an update indicating an earlier backup had been resolved.

“It’s been a confusing week, ranging from 14-28 container ships anticipated to be delayed earlier in the week to only three ships anticipated to be delayed as of noon today,” wrote Kip Louttit, executive director of the exchange.

A lack of lashers — dockworkers trained to load, secure and unload vessel cargo — was cited as the cause of the earlier delays.

The PMA statement said the ILWU at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports “refused to dispatch lashers who ensure cargo for trans-Pacific voyages and unfasten cargo after ships arrive. Without this vital function, ships sit idle and cannot be loaded or unloaded, leaving American exports sitting at the docks unable to reach their destination.”

Shifts without lashers, the PMA statement continued, result in “more ships sitting idle, occupying berths and causing a backup of incoming vessels.”

But on Friday, the PMA statement added, work at the twin ports locally had returned to normal.

“With the ILWU’s decision to stop withholding labor, terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have for now averted the domino effect that would have resulted in backups not seen since last year’s supply chain meltdown.”

Withholding necessary labor, the statement continued, has been part of a broader effort as talks have gone on. The union in the past has denied any such coordinated job actions.

Earlier, several terminals at both the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports were impacted and experienced short-term closures.

The resumption of talks is viewed as a positive sign.

But the lengthy process remains a factor in some companies deciding to divert cargo to Gulf and East Coast ports as concerns about possible disruptions surrounding the negotiations have mounted.

“It is difficult to win back cargo once it’s diverted,” the PMA statement said.

Source: Orange County Register