Exports from west coast seaports
US – Union tensions have halted meat exports from west coast seaports because of a struggle over worker contracts, with major implications for beef, chicken and pork.
Nine months of stalemate has seen the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), a negotiation and administration group, lock horns with the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union (ILWU), a worker representative.
Union action has halted an average of 75 cranes each day, which the PMA attributed to the stalling of tens of thousands of crates. In California, crane workers have fallen 67 per cent.
On 12 January the PMA blasted the ILWU for bringing terminal operations to “the brink of gridlock”.
In a statement, the PMA said: “Since late October 2014, the ILWU has crippled what were fully productive terminals in the Pacific Northwest and Oakland, and exacerbated a difficult congestion issue at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by intentionally withholding dozens of essential skilled workers each shift for the past 10 weeks.”
“The PMA has a sense of urgency to resolve these contract talks and get our ports moving again,” said PMA spokesperson Steve Getzug. “Unfortunately, it appears the Union’s motivation is to continue slowdowns in an attempt to gain leverage in the bargaining. The ILWU slowdowns and the resulting operational environment are no longer sustainable.”
Speaking in December, ILWU President, Bob McEllrath, he would “not roll over” for the employers” and was reported to have said there were three main challenges that have triggered congestion at pacific coast ports.