Labor

Sounding evermore bellicose, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) ramped up the rhetoric recently, alleging that port congestion is a consequence of carrier/terminal conspiracies.

The PMA, which represents employers at America’s 29 West Coast ports, has finally asked for federal mediation in its contract negotiations with the ILWU.

When the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) convenes a caucus in San Francisco next week, contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association may finally draw to a close.

While the ongoing labor negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) ostensibly going from bad to worse, following the ILWU’s announcement late last week that it was halting negotiations from November 20 through November 30, a Congressional group last week penned a letter to PMA and ILWU leadership expressing concern over the state of the negotiations.

Three weeks after initiating a coordinated series of slowdowns that have mired the major West Coast ports of Tacoma, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach, the ILWU has pushed away from the bargaining table.

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition has asked the Administration to bring in a federal mediator to help resolve the negotiations, and if a strike or lockout occurs, the AgTC advocates the rarely-invoked Taft-Hartley Act.

A new threat to U.S. West Coast port productivity surfaced yesterday, as the Teamsters began organizing independent owner-operated truckers.

The PMA is asking the ILWU to agree to a temporary contract extension so that Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs), truck drivers, and other stakeholders may be spared ongoing hardship.

While shippers are understandably shaken by the impasse in U.S. West Coast dockside labor talks, port authorities are resolute in taking a neutral position on the issue.

As contract negotiations resume today between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), a war of words and allegations has escalated in the trade press.

FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, reports today that a decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed previous rulings by the District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in three class action cases involving mostly former independent contractors for FedEx Ground

More talking remains before the deal is done

The saga continues, as the PMA and ILWU plan to resume their contract negotiations on Monday, August 4, in San Francisco

Ahead of negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which began this week in San Francisco, a letter to ILWU President Robert McEllrath and PMA Chairman and CEO James McKenna pleaded the case for the sides to come to an agreement ahead of the June 30 contract deadline for West Coast dockworkers.

The federal board that oversees labor relations is proposing a sweeping change to the way union elections are held, much to the chagrin of non-union trucking companies who say their ability to fight back will be compromised.