LOS ANGELES — Negotiations to finalize a key labor contract for the West Coast ports hit a major setback as the association representing the waterfront employers charged the longshoremen’s union with orchestrating slowdowns in Seattle and Tacoma in the middle of the peak holiday shipping season.
The Pacific Maritime Association claimed on Monday that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union targeted select terminals in Tacoma on Friday and expanded to more terminals in that port and also in Seattle throughout the weekend. Together, the ports handle about 16 percent of cargo arriving on the West Coast.
The association estimated that the slowdown reduced productivity at the terminals by more than 40 percent. It said terminals that typically move 25 to 35 containers an hour slowed to a rate of 10 to 18 containers an hour. It said the union is failing to bring in skilled workers, including operators who stack and move containers, to enable smooth operations at the ports.
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“We are calling upon the ILWU to cease its slowdowns and agree to a temporary contract extension while we negotiate a new contract,” said Wade Gates, a spokesman for the association. “The union’s agreement to a contract extension would give confidence to shippers and the general public, and would prove our willingness to solve our differences at the negotiating table, rather than by staging illegal actions at the docks.”
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The union responded by describing the association’s allegation as a “dishonest media offensive…designed to smear the union and to deflect responsibility from a growing congestion problem that is plaguing major West Coast ports.”
The alleged slowdown is taking place four months after the expiration of a six-year contract between the association and the union, which represents nearly 20,000 workers at 29 West Coast ports that altogether handle 1 million tons of cargo daily. Following the previous contract’s expiration on July 1, the association said both sides agreed that operations at the ports would continue normally until a new agreement could be reached. The union contended that no such agreement was ever made. On Aug. 26, negotiators managed to take one step closer to a contract by approving tentative terms on health benefits, which, particularly with the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax, formed some of the most crucial issues.
Since sitting down for discussions on May 12, the union and association have negotiated through a brief truck-driver strike at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in July as well as a fire at the L.A. Port in September. There also have been complaints of congestion at the ports due to factors such as a shortage in chassis to transport the shipping containers. Moreover, they’ve been receiving letters periodically from more than 100 trade associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Outdoor Industry Association, National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation, urging them to conclude their talks.
The union has called for talks with the association to resume on Wednesday.