PMA, ILWU Issue Conflicting Statements About West Coast Port Closures

Work slowdowns continued in recent days at West Coast ports amid contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, at least according to the PMA -- the ILWU said the ports are "open" and its members "continue to work."

The PMA said June 12 that the ILWU had a day earlier "resumed its past practice of withholding lashers" from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and was continuing to "stage disruptive work actions" at the Port of Seattle.

The association, which represents West Coast ports, said in a previous statement June 10 that work slowdowns "directed by ILWU officials" had shut down the port of Seattle, with "ground operations at marine terminals" brought "to a halt" during the second and third shifts on June 9" and longshore workers being sent home as a result. On June 10, "the ILWU refused to dispatch any longshore workers to container terminals," resulting in a second day that the port was shut down.

The Port of Seattle directed International Trade Today's request for comment to the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which said that it was monitoring terminal operators but that each terminal operator was "making their own decisions regarding operations, which vary across our gateway." Operations "vary by terminal and in each harbor," the NWSA said.

"The Northwest Seaport Alliance hopes for a conclusion of contract negotiations that support the working men and women of the waterfront while maintaining efficient operations of the supply chain," the NWSA said. "The outcome of these negotiations remain important to us as our gateway supports more than 58,000 jobs across the region and provides a critical gateway for the export of Washington state products to Asia."

The Ports of Los Angeles declined to comment. Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero told us June 12 that the port “continues to be open, with all six container terminals operating and moving cargo” as of that morning.

Meanwhile, the ILWU denied that port closures were occurring in a June 10 response to the PMA's initial statement. The ILWU said the PMA is "using the media to leverage one-sided information" in an attempt to influence the process. ILWU President Willie Adams added that, "despite what you are hearing from PMA," West Coast ports are "open as we continue to work under our expired collective bargaining agreement." The ILWU reaffirmed their commitment to negotiating a "fair and equitable agreement," and adding that both parties were continuing to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement.

The PMA's June 12 statement said that the purportedly ongoing ILWU actions at ports in Seattle, Los Angeles and Long Beach "contrast sharply with a press release issued by the ILWU," adding that: "For months, the ILWU has staged disruptive work actions targeting the West Coast’s largest ports. These actions have either slowed operations or shut them down altogether, impeding the supply chain and leaving ships and the American exports they carry sitting idle at the docks." The ILWU's actions included "withholding specialized workers," conducting inspections that are not routine to disrupt terminal operations, and "improperly coordinating lunch and unit breaks to drain all labor from terminals at the same time," the PMA said.