LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seaports in major West Coast cities
that normally are abuzz with the sound of commerce are falling unusually quiet.
Companies that operate marine terminals said they weren't
calling workers to unload ships Thursday that carry car parts, furniture,
clothing, electronics - just about anything made in Asia and destined for U.S.
consumers. Containers of U.S. exports won't get loaded either.
The partial lockout is the result of an increasingly
damaging labor dispute between dockworkers and their employers.
The two sides have been negotiating a new contract, and
stalled talks have all but paralyzed 29 ports that handle about one-quarter of
U.S. international trade - around $1 trillion worth of cargo annually.
The 15 ships scheduled to arrive Thursday at the ports of
Los Angeles and Long Beach, by far the nation's largest complex, will join a
trail of about 20 others anchored off the coast, waiting for berths at the
docks to clear. There are clusters of ships outside the ports of Oakland, and
Seattle and Tacoma in Washington.
The Southern California slots weren't opening Thursday.
The ships occupying them were being idled because companies that operate marine
terminals did not call dockworkers to operate the towering cranes that hoist
containers of cargo on and off ships.
The berths won't clear Saturday, Sunday or Monday either.
On each of the days, dockworkers would get bonus pay - for the weekend or
Presidents Day holiday - and employers refuse to pay extra to longshoremen who
have slowed their work rate as a pressure tactic, said Steve Getzug, a
spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, which is bargaining on behalf
of terminal operators and shipping companies.
Dockworkers deny slowing down and say cargo is moving
slowly for reasons they do not control, including a shortage of truck beds to
take containers to retailers' distribution warehouses.
Employers could still hire smaller crews that would focus
on moving containers already clogging dockside yards onto trucks or trains in
an effort to free space amid historically bad levels of congestion. Full crews
would still service military and cruise ships, and any cargo ships bound for
Hawaii.
But both are small operations compared with working
container ships that are as long as some skyscrapers are tall.
Cargo has been struggling for months to cross the
troubled West Coast waterfront. Containers that used to take two or three days
to hit the highway have been taking a week or more, causing disruptions.
The maritime association blames the crisis on
longshoremen they say have staged work slowdowns since November. In recent
days, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said companies are
exaggerating the extent of congestion so they can cut dockworker shifts and
pressure negotiators into a contract agreement.
The last contract bargaining session was Friday, nearly a
week ago. Negotiations were to resume Wednesday in San Francisco but were
canceled despite heavy - and increasing - pressure from elected officials and
businesses to reach a deal. The two sides rescheduled for Thursday.
Talks have stalled over how to arbitrate future workplace
disputes. Some of the biggest issues, including health care, have been resolved
with tentative agreements.
In response to employers' decision to limit work crews,
announced Wednesday, the union noted that longshoremen also were not hired to
load or unload vessels last weekend.
"The union is standing by ready to negotiate, as we
have been for the past several days," union President Robert McEllrath
said in a written statement. He suggested the maritime association is
"trying to sabotage negotiations."
Source: NJ
Herald
No comments:
Post a Comment