The ongoing labor talks between West Coast longshore union and the association that represents cargo shippers and operators appeared to hit another snag this week, with the two parties apparently at odds over a provision that requires LA and Long Beach port workers to stagger their lunch breaks to ensure cargo can be received 24 hours a day.
The Pacific Maritime Association, a nonprofit that represents cargo carriers and port terminal operators, said in a Monday, March 20, statement that the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has stopped complying with the staggered shift provision — an agreement made between the two parties as the negotiations for a new contract carry on.
Instead, PMA said, ILWU Local 13 members have stopped working from noon to 1 p.m. and from 10 to 11 p.m. Representatives for the union, though, said longshore workers continue complying with terms ILWU has reached with PMA.
“Beginning last week, ILWU Local 13 has stopped complying with that contract provision,” the PMA’s statement said. “As a result, longshore workers at the Ports of LA and Long Beach are not working the terminals between (those hours), creating significant delays.”
The action may represent the first work stoppage of any kind since contract negotiations got underway in May 2022, though ILWU leadership wouldn’t confirm that the scheduling change was a union action in response to the long-drawn out talks.
ILWU leadership, in fact, appeared to blame PMA for the lack of 24/7 operations.
“The ILWU-PMA contract allows dockworkers to take a lunch break just like everyone else,” ILWU international President Willie Adams said in Monday statement. “Longshore workers in Los Angeles and Long Beach are working every day according to the terms agreed upon with the PMA. Terminal operators, however, open and close their gates at will, and limit their hours of operations when they are supposed to be open around the clock — 24/7.”
The union also noted that port cargo volumes in both LA and Long Beach have been on the decline in recent months — and that appointments, which truckers can schedule to drop off cargo outside of lunch hours — are underutilized by as much as 60 to 80%.
The Port of LA processed 487,846 twenty-foot equivalent units — or TEUs, the industry’s standard of measurement — in February, a 43% decrease from the same month last year. The neighboring Port of Long Beach, meanwhile, outpaced its larger neighbor last month, moving 543,675 TEUs — though that was still down 31.7% from February 2022, which was the busiest February on record for both ports.
Officials from the ports of LA and Long Beach declined to comment on the latest hiccup in labor talks.
But Gene Seroka, the Port of LA’s executive director, said previously that the declining cargo numbers are partially related to the long drawn out contract negotiations between PMA and ILWU. Shippers have begun sending their cargo to Gulf and East Coast ports, Seroka said during a Friday, March 17, virtual press briefing, out of concern that a potential work stoppage could impact their operations.
“We’ve got to bring more cargo back,” Seroka said. “Many cargo owners continue to have trepidation about these protracted labor negotiations.”
The one year anniversary of talks beginning between ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association will hit in May.
“Cargo owners want the certainty of a signed deal,” Seroka added.
But consumer spending is also on the decline, Seroka said, as the prices of everyday goods and basic cost-of-living expenses continue to increase because of inflation. Additionally, trade typically slows in February as Asian factories close for the Lunar New year.
Still, it’s unclear where the PMA-ILWU negotiations stand, as both parties have agreed not to speak publicly about how their talks are progressing. Both provided a joint statement update in late February, though, saying that negotiations are still underway and the pair hope to reach a deal “soon.”
Staff writer Donna Littlejohn contributed to this report.