October man-hours paid in LA-Long Beach skyrocket Man-hours paid to longshoremen in Los Angeles-Long Beach in October went through the roof because of the worst congestion the ports have experienced in more than a decade. Yet employers emphasize that even though more longshoremen are working more hours, congestion continues to increase because there are not enough skilled equipment operators being dispatched from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union hall each shift. The ILWU adamantly denies that the union is contributing to congestion at the largest U.S. port complex. In a statement on Monday, the ILWU said the Pacific Maritime Association “deceptively blames workers for port congestion caused by chassis mismanagement and other supply chain disruptions.” Numbers for Los Angeles-Long Beach posted on the PMA website show that during the four-week period ending Oct. 31, employers each week paid an average of 488,866 man-hours, a 33 percent increase compared to the same period in October 2013. PMA’s October numbers for container volume are not yet available. For September, PMA reported a 6 percent increase in container volume in the port complex compared to September 2013. The PMA last week released two statements charging that the ILWU in Southern California was contributing to port congestion by dispatching only about 50 percent of the skilled equipment operators requested by the terminals each shift. Operators of transtainers and other container-handling equipment are vital to smooth operations in the container yards. The yards at most of the 13 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach have been congested for months, because of a dozen or more operational issues. The PMA accused the ILWU of capitalizing on this weakness in Southern California to gain leverage in the coastwide contract negotiations that have been underway in San Francisco since May. The PMA also charged that the ILWU locals in Seattle-Tacoma for more than a week now have been operating ship-to-shore cranes at about 50 percent of their normal productivity. Last weekend, the PMA accused dockworkers in Oakland of “walking off” their jobs for three straight shifts. The ILWU said in a statement Tuesday that the workers in Oakland cited specific safety violations with equipment, and when they refused to operate the equipment, they were fired for the remainder of the shifts. While these accusations were going back and forth this week, the congestion situation at all of the major gateways remained dire. Some of the vessels arriving in port in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest were sent directly to anchor because of delays in working the vessels that had gone to berth the week before. Some terminals were refusing to receive export containers because they had nowhere to store them. This is hurting apple exporters in Washington, who report a bumper crop this year. A number of terminals in Southern California have been at 90 percent utilization, which in an operational sense is considered beyond capacity. The congestion situation at West Coast ports Tuesday was status quo. The Port of Tacoma reported that the terminals were closed for Veterans Day. Terminal operators in Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach said the congestion had not gotten worse, although there were no significant gains, either. Cargo volumes are projected to stay strong for another week or so before trailing off in the normal seasonal slump Meanwhile, coastwide contract negotiations in San Francisco continued late into the night on Monday and resumed on Tuesday, reportedly with the focus on issues in Southern California. The congestion problems are expected to linger for some weeks, and the finger-pointing by the PMA and ILWU is also expected to continue. The ILWU statement on Monday made this point clear. “The ILWU is not responsible for the current congestion crisis at West Coast ports. The documented causes of congestion at the ports include: — Chassis shortage and dislocation. — Rail service delays, including a shortage of railcars nationwide. — The exodus of truck drivers who cannot make a living wage. — Long truck turn times. — Record retail import volumes (increases of 5.3 percent over 2013). — Larger vessels discharging massive amounts of cargo. — Container terminals pushed to storage capacities. — The peak-shipping season.” The PMA agrees that all of those factors contribute to the port congestion, and the employers’ organization did not say that the ILWU actions of recent weeks were the sole cause of the congestion. Rather, employers said the disruptive actions by a union that has been working without a contract since July 1 has taken a bad situation and made it worse. JOC NEWS - NOV 12 2014
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:17:46 +0000
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