West Coast Conflict Continues in the New Year

Conflict between the ILWU and the PMA continues into the New Year as each organization has initiated actions that will further exacerbate the congestion. In an effort to gain leverage over employers, the ILWU withheld a large number of skilled crane operators from their shifts. Without the crane operators, the cargo-handling operations have experienced a drastic slow down. In response, the PMA has reduced the number of night-shift workers to mitigate the amount of container build-up that would occur if the night shifts were unloading at the proper rate. As a result of these two actions, the congestion on the West Coast is worsening. The PMA and ILWU were scheduled to meet Friday, January 2, 2015, but we have not seen any information yet on the results of this meeting.

We will continue to monitor the West Coast and work with our contacts to mitigate delays for our members. Stay tuned for further developments on these issues.