Starting Friday, local time in the U.S. West, some U.S. West terminals, including Los Angeles and Oakland, have begun to fall into shutdown due to the failure of negotiations between the union representing the interests of dockworkers and port management, resulting in a strike by union workers!
According to a CNBC report: After negotiations with port management broke down, the U.S. West Coast ports are shutting down due to the absence of union workers (NO SHOW)!
The Port of Oakland closed on Friday morning due to a shortage of labor for terminal operations (the union is not scheduling workers to arrive), and this shutdown is expected to last at least through Saturday.
A source familiar with the situation told CNBC that the port closure is expected to spread across the West Coast as workers protest wage negotiations in contract talks with port management due to a lack of sufficient labor!
Port of Oakland spokesman Robert Bernardo said the port's two marine terminals -- the largest SSA terminal and TraPac -- were closed as of Friday's morning shift.
While the action taken by workers is not an official strike, the source told CNBC that shutdowns are expected at other West Coast ports as union workers refuse to report assignments.
Los Angeles port hubs have also reportedly halted operations, including Fenix Marine, APL Terminals, and the Port of Hueneme (Port of Hueneme). The situation at the major terminals remains precarious and truckers in Los Angeles are being turned away!
In a press release from the ILWU, President Willie Adams said that negotiations 'have not broken down,' adding, 'We will not accept an economic package that does not recognize the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of ILWU employees, which efforts and sacrifices that have resulted in record profits for the shipping industry.'
The shutdown comes at a time when activity at West Coast ports is picking up again. It follows a decline in throughput at East Coast ports due to concerns over the unstable labor situation. At the Port of Oakland, total container volume has grown for two consecutive months and port officials are optimistic about the uptick. It is the nation's eighth-largest port, with imports including wine and meat from Australia, aluminum from South Korea, and apparel, electronics and furniture from China.
'Given the growth we've seen in our business over the past few months, we are optimistic about stronger cargo volumes through Oakland in the second half of 2023,' said Bryan Brandes, director of maritime for the Port of Oakland. 'We also expect the Port of Oakland to offer more maritime services in the coming months.'
Oakland is a big port for U.S. agricultural exporters,' said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agricultural Transportation Coalition (AgTC). 'Every Friday is the most important operating time for agricultural exports.'
The port and the union have been engaged in contract negotiations over the past year, adding pressure to port operations.
On April 20, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents the port, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that they had reached a tentative agreement on certain key issues, but did not disclose more information.
People familiar with the negotiation process told CNBC at the time that it represented 'significant progress. The previous agreement included maintaining health benefits. But known issues that still need to be resolved include wages, as well as security, automation and pension benefits.
The PMA, which represents port management, tweeted a statement calling the ILWU's activities on Friday 'concerted and disruptive strike action.
The ILWU said in a statement Friday that rank-and-file workers had taken responsibility for 'expressing their discontent' in the ongoing 'uphill battle' with port management. The ILWU statement did not specifically mention wages, but referred to 'basic requirements,' including health and safety, as well as the $500 billion in profits that shipping companies and terminal operators have made in the past two years. 500 billion in profits.
The last shutdown at the Oakland port was in early November, when hundreds of employees resigned over a wage dispute.
Any closure of a container terminal has ripple effects, including impacting truckers picking up and unloading cargo.
Truckers also stopped work over California's AB 5 bill classifying truckers as employees. the work stoppage lasted five days but took two months to resolve. ilwu did not cross that picket line.
At the Port of Oakland, more than 2,100 trucks pass through the terminal each day, but none are expected to do so through Saturday due to a labor shortage.
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