The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association entered the weekend engaged at a standoff at Los Angeles-Long Beach as employers plan to reduce the number of longshore crews that will be assigned to work vessels on the night shifts while the union continues to short terminals on skilled equipment operators in the container yards.
A spokesman for ILWU Local 13 in Southern California, said 800 dockworkers were set to report to the hiring hall at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time on Friday. The ILWU also invited U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn and California Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnel to the hiring hall to observe the dispatch for the night shift. The PMA on Wednesday notified ILWU locals in Los Angeles-Long Beach that marine terminal container yards had become so congested that employers on the night shifts beginning Friday would assign only one 45-man work crew, known as a gang, to work each vessel, rather than three as has been the norm lately. Day shift vessel operations would not be affected. Also, terminal operators would continue to man yard and gate operations normally, the PMA stated.
Livingston continues to track the ongoing labor negotiations and will post updates as they become available. We recommend you bookmark our West Coast port updates page and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest.
Source: Journal of Commerce