Federal mediators have stepped in to the labor dispute at
West Coast ports after both shipping companies and dockworkers requested
outside help. Talks have dragged on for months, Bloomberg explained, and
briefly threatened to undercut the holiday shopping season, though the two
sides did manage to avoid a work stoppage. Even so, in November shipping
companies accused workers of a slowdown that was backing up cargo at multiple
ports.
The public messaging has been tougher in recent weeks,
too. Steve Wilhelm of the Puget Sound Business Journal reported on one such
back-and-forth late last week, in which shippers issued a press release saying
the International Longshore and Warehouse Union was using work assignments as a
tool for slowing down progress at the ports. The union responded, through the
media, with an argument that where the shippers saw intentional malfeasance,
the union saw a lack of qualified workers thanks to job cutbacks.
It's not yet clear when, or where, the two sides will
meet again to discuss a new contract to cover about 20,000 ILWU members who
work at 29 ports and have been without a contract since July
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
No comments:
Post a Comment