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Coordinated work action violates labor contract, arbitrator order, says management group

LOS ANGELES – 05/01/08 – The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has struck 29 US West Coast ports from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest, bringing cargo operations to a virtual standstill.

The day-long strike was called to protest US military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and “defies an order from the independent Coast Arbitrator to notify its Locals and members of its contractual obligation and direct all members to report to work as they normally do during the day shift on May 1, 2008."

Coast Arbitrator John Kagel issued the order yesterday after holding a hearing by phone with the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents the ocean carriers and terminal operators operating at the ports.

The union previously asked employers to clear the way for members to take the day off to protest the war, but the employers refused the request.

The work-stoppage, comes just two months prior to the expiration of the current labor agreement and “is illegal under the ILWU-Pacific Maritime Association contract,” according to a PMA statement issued this morning.

A protest at all West Coast ports would affect more than half of the nation's waterborne trade. Protesters were walking picket lines this morning at the  of Oakland in an effort to convince truckers to take part in the shutdown.

At the Port of Long Beach, a handful of longshore workers reported to terminals this morning, leaving terminal operators too shorthanded to conduct normal cargo operations.

Typically 1,000 to 3,000 ILWU members work the privately-operated terminals in Long Beach every day.

According to a statement issued by the port, there were no protests or demonstrations at the port. Port of Long Beach, which ordinarily is the nation's second busiest seaport.
Long Beach terminal operators said they expected ILWU members to return to work for the second shift beginning at 6 pm (PST).

PA spokesman Steve Getzug said today's actions raised the question of whether this was an attempt to leverage contract negotiations. He also expressed concerns that the ILWU “might use slowdowns as a negotiating tactic, as they have in the past.”

The work stoppage, "in defiance of the contract and the arbitrator's order, in no way benefits an already-fragile US economy," Getzug said.

"We have a lot of serious issues to resolve at the bargaining table, and the nation cannot afford uncertainty about the reliability of the West Coast ports," he added.

Today's action, which essentially shut down all major ports along the coast, culminates a series of events that began when ILWU members passed a resolution opposing the US-led coalition war in Iraq.

After seeking permission under contract rules to stop work during the day shift today, union leaders later retracted their request, and claimed that any decision not to work today would be made by individual workers.

ILWU members are among the highest-paid blue-collar workers in the nation.

Average full-time wages for fully registered workers are $136,000. An individual member’s benefits package, including pension and health care, costs more than $50,000 per worker.

Nearly 15,000 registered longshore workers are employed at West Coast ports, an increase of more than 4,000 since 2002.

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