After a week of unofficial action by some ILWU members, West Coast ports are largely normal after the Union (ILWU) and maritime employers (PMA) agreed to a cooling off period on Monday after a joint meeting with a representative of President Biden.
Actions by ILWU locals in the Pacific Northwest and Southern California were lifted on Monday and ports, including Seattle and Tacoma, which had suffered the worst of the work slowdowns last week, were quickly back to normal operations, with the last of the vessel backlog gone.
UPDATE 15 06 23; 12:20PM: The Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced they had reached a tentative agreement on a six-year contract covering workers at 29 West Coast ports. The tentative deal is subject to ratification by the two parties.
While individual union members have been expressing their frustration with the slow space of labour negotiations, impatience within the PMA is growing, due to months of delay in talks and the labour unrest up and down the West Coast, with the JOC reporting that the possibility of a lockout by employers, has risen and is now “50-50.”
In a further complication, developments on the Panama Canal may make shippers cautious about using the East Coast.
Water levels in the watercourses that feed into the Panama Canal’s locks are far below normal, due to drought, resulting in draught limits and rising surcharges for container ships traversing the canal.
The canal authority has steadily reduced draft levels since February, which means the largest ships must take fewer containers overall or cherry-pick lower-weight containers.
The West Coast contract negotiations have yet to reach a conclusion after 13 months, and the current hangup over wages could be the most problematic, with the ILWU seeking to essentially double the straight-time hourly wage for general longshore workers. Sources told the Journal of Commerce the PMA is offering a wage package that is significantly less than what the ILWU seeks.
Any deal agreed with the ILWU on the West Coast will also serve as a basis for upcoming talks with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on the East and Gulf coasts and will impact upcoming negotiations with the Office Clerical Union, which represents about 500 workers at 15 marine terminals and ocean carriers in and around Los Angeles-Long Beach.
If you are shipping through the West Coast and have any concerns, we can review your situation, explain your options and, if necessary, consider alternative access ports in Canada, the Gulf and on the East Coast. With our collaborative approach, we will always find the most appropriate solutions, to ensure that your supply chain expectations are met.
Global Forwarding USA has a dedicated import and export department, that handle ocean, air and customs brokerage – including all related customs departments – with domestic transport for container movements, LTL and FTL.
EMAIL Adam Davies, Global Forwarding USA, Vice President.
