The ongoing labor talks between West Coast longshore union and the association that represents cargo shippers and operators appeared to hit another snag this week, with the two parties apparently at odds over a provision that requires LA and Long Beach port workers to stagger their lunch breaks to ensure cargo can be received 24 hours a day.
The Pacific Maritime Association, a nonprofit that represents cargo carriers and port terminal operators, said in a Monday, March 20, statement that the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has stopped complying with the staggered shift provision — an agreement made between the two parties as the negotiations for a new contract carry on.
Instead, PMA said, ILWU Local 13 members have stopped working from noon to 1 p.m. and from 10 to 11 p.m. Representatives for the union, though, said longshore workers continue complying with terms ILWU has reached with PMA.
“Beginning last week, ILWU Local 13 has stopped complying with that contract provision,” the PMA’s statement said. “As a result, longshore workers at the Ports of LA and Long Beach are not working the terminals between (those hours), creating significant delays.”
The action may represent the first work stoppage of any kind since contract negotiations got underway in May 2022, though ILWU leadership wouldn’t confirm that the scheduling change was a union action in response to the long-drawn out talks.
ILWU leadership, in fact, appeared to blame PMA for the lack of 24/7 operations.
“The ILWU-PMA contract allows dockworkers to take a lunch break just like everyone else,” ILWU international President Willie Adams said in Monday statement. “Longshore workers in Los Angeles and Long Beach are working every day according to the terms agreed upon with the PMA. Terminal operators, however, open and close their gates at will, and limit their hours of operations when they are supposed to be open around the clock — 24/7.”
The union…
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