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ILWU says has tentative deal with PMA on ‘key issues,’ but withholds details

(Updating story with comment from the Pacific Maritime Association).

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on Thursday said it had reached a “tentative agreement” with West Coast employers on “certain key issues,” but indicated a final deal on a new contract was still being hammered out by the two sides.

“Talks are continuing on an ongoing basis until an agreement is reached,” the ILWU said in a brief statement. It did not disclose the issues it had reached agreement on with the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents marine terminal and ocean carrier employers.

The ILWU statement comes even as ILWU Local 13 continued to engage in job action as recently as Wednesday that has been slowing down cargo handling at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for three straight weeks.

Thursday’s public announcement by the ILWU differed from previous statements made over the past year on the progress of labor talks, which were jointly released with the PMA. Instead, the PMA released its own statement late Thursday that confirmed progress in the talks, but also took the union to task for job action in Los Angeles-Long Beach.

“While significant progress has been achieved in coastwise contract negotiations, several key issues remain unresolved,” the PMA said. “Meanwhile, work actions led by ILWU Local 13 at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continued to disrupt some operations at key marine terminals (Thursday). The union is deliberately conducting inspections that are not routine, unscheduled, and done in a way that disrupt terminal operations.”

Talks between the ILWU and PMA began last May 10; the prior contract expired July 1.

A coalition of 238 US shippers and transportation interests, frustrated by the lack of progress in the West Coast labor negotiations and the resulting diversion of cargo, urged the White House last month to intervene in the talks.

Interestingly, the ILWU statement was published just as Julie Su, the Biden administration’s nominee to be the next Secretary of Labor, was appearing for her confirmation hearing Thursday in the Senate. Su, California’s former labor chief, is seen as a heavily pro-labor pick.

Multiple sources told the Journal of Commerce on Wednesday that ILWU Local 13 had “red-tagged” cranes at at least six of the 12 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach as being unsafe, which forced the shutdown of that equipment until it could be inspected. The time-consuming tactic has forced terminals to halt operations for times ranging from an eight-hour work shift to an entire day, sources have said.

Local 13 is also continuing to delay the dispatch of workers each day to most of the terminals in the port complex.

“It’s an escalation (of the red-tagging) and a continuation (of the late dispatches),” a source said of the union’s tactics.

Local 13 officials were not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Source:

Mongelluzzo, B. (2023, April 20). Update: ILWU says has tentative deal with PMA on ‘key issues,’ but withholds details. Journal of Commerce. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-says-has-tentative-deal-pma-key-issues-withholds-details_20230420.html

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ILWU stall LA-LB terminal openings after closures last week

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13 on Monday delayed work at most of the marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by slowing the dispatch of workers, after union job actions closed nearly all of the port complex’s terminals Thursday night and Friday morning.

According to three sources close to the matter who asked not to be identified, ILWU Local 13 also refused to allow a representative of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents employers, to observe the dispatching process. The dispatch hall is jointly operated by the ILWU and the PMA.

Neither ILWU Local 13 nor the PMA responded to a request for comment.

While Monday’s job actions resulted only in delays — as opposed to a full shutdown, as occurred last week — the actions were yet another indication that the coastwide labor contract negotiations, which have been under way for 11 months, are heading in the wrong direction.

ILWU Local 13 said in a statement Friday that it held its monthly membership meeting Thursday evening for the swearing in of incoming Local 13 President Gary Herrera, noting that the membership meeting is a “contractual right.”

A source close to the matter said that although the ILWU is allowed to call a stop-work meeting each month under the coastwide contract to discuss union issues, Thursday’s meeting was not previously arranged according to the terms of the agreement.

In addition, ILWU Local 13 said union members who observe religious holidays “took the opportunity to celebrate with their families” on Friday. Good Friday is not a recognized holiday under the coastwide contract.

In a subsequent statement Friday, the PMA said, “These actions undermine confidence in West Coast ports and threaten to further accelerate the diversion of discretionary cargo to Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports.”

Source:

Mongelluzzo, B. (2023, April 10). ILWU stall la-lb terminal openings after closures last week: Journal of Commerce. ILWU stall LA-LB terminal openings after closures last week | Journal of Commerce. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-stall-la-lb-terminal-openings-after-closures-last-week_20230410.html

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Arbitration call as Canadian port labour negotiations go off the rails

While contract negotiations between US west coast labour and marine terminals move at a snail’s pace, talks north of the border, in Canada, quickly came off the rails.

After a few sessions, barely two weeks after the start of talks, the International Warehouse & Longshoremen’s Union (ILWU) stepped back from discussions with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) for a new contract at Canadian west coast ports, and asked the federal government in Ottawa for conciliation.

And the face-off is also casting a shadow over Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s (VFPA) plan to build a new container terminal.

Negotiations for a new contract on the west coast – including the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert – got under way on 6 March to replace the five-year deal expiring at the end of the month.

Nobody was expecting a quick settlement, previous contract talks had dragged on for a year or more, but the speed the negotiations hit an impasse was a surprise. After five rounds of talks, the ILWU asked the government to appoint a conciliator to get the negotiations back on track.

“ILWU Canada is taking this action because there has been no meaningful progress with the BCMEA,” the union declared.

A conciliation officer has to be appointed within 15 days, and the process is set for 60 days, but can be extended upon request from both sides. They have gone through this on previous occasions without reaching a compromise.

In the run-up to the negotiations, the ILWU signalled it would be seeking “significant” wage increases for its members, and benefits and working conditions were also expected to produce some tough negotiations.

Probably the biggest stumbling block, however, is the thorny issue of automation of container terminals – just like south of the border, where the ILWU has taken a firm stand.

The issue had been a flashpoint in the previous round of Canadian contract negotiations in 2019, which culminated in a brief lock-out. The two sides worked out a compromise soon afterwards with the help of an arbitrator and, in the aftermath, the union commissioned a study on terminal automation.

This concluded that an automated terminal could operate with 50% to 90% fewer workers than a manually operated one.

The issue has risen again as VFPA is planning a new container terminal close to the port’s Deltaport facility and the union is fighting to prevent automation.. It argued that this would not only affect employment at the new site, but have a knock-on effect at the port’s existing container facilities, which would be forced to follow suit to remain competitive.

In February, the ILWU sent an open letter to the government in Ottawa expressing concern over the impact of the planned facility on jobs and on the environment.

VFPA has been lobbying hard to gain environmental approval for the new terminal and asked the union to join its effort, but the ILWU rejected this – even after the port authority dangled a carrot in the shape of 800 or more guaranteed jobs if the facility got built. This was dismissed by the union, which said the VFPA had previously argued that decisions on automation would be up to terminal operators.

Ottawa’s conciliation officer is facing a near-impossible task, as both sides appear set to battle for their objectives.

Source:

Putzger, I. (2023, March 30). Arbitration call as Canadian port labour negotiations go off the rails. The Loadstar. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://theloadstar.com/arbitration-call-as-canadian-port-labour-negotiations-go-off-the-rails/

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British Columbia dockworker negotiations fail to progress

The International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) bargaining committee has filed a notice of dispute with Canada’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in connection with its negotiations with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents 49 of B.C.’s private-sector waterfront employers and operators. The union and employers are currently in talks to renew two collective agreements with more than 7,400 longshore workers and foremen at Canada’s West Coast ports. The current agreements expire on March 31.

ILWU Canada said in a statement that there has been no meaningful progress in the discussions.

In filing the notice of dispute, the bargaining committee is seeking to have Canada’s minister of labour appoint a conciliation officer to assist the parties in the negotiations.

The conciliation period would last for at least 60 days unless extended by mutual agreement. Union members and casuals would continue to work as usual during that period.

Source:

Biggar, K. (2023, March 25). British Columbia Dockworker negotiations fail to progress. Splash247. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://splash247.com/british-columbia-dockworker-negotiations-progress/

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ILWU Canada triggers federal intervention in contract talks with employers

Just over two weeks into formal negotiations, the longshore union manning the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert has asked the Canadian federal government for help in reaching a new contract with maritime employers, citing a lack of “meaningful progress.”

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada filed a “notice of dispute” with the Minister of Labor in Ottawa, triggering a process during which a federal conciliation officer appointed within 15 days “will assist and support the parties to achieve a renewed collective agreement,” the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said in a statement Tuesday.

It’s the same process the parties have used in prior rounds of collective bargaining negotiations, BCMEA noted. ILWU Canada’s existing contract expires at the end of March.

Talks began March 6

ILWU Canada and its 12 locals in Western Canada, and BCMEA, which represents container lines and terminal operators, began formal negotiations on March 6 for a new contract to replace the existing five-year agreement. The two sides have had five face-to-face bargaining sessions since then.

“ILWU Canada is taking this action because there has been no meaningful progress with the BCMEA in discussions to renew the … collective agreement,” the union said in a statement about its filing to the federal government.

ILWU Canada is seeking significant wage increases, while automation of cargo-handling equipment, a source of tension in past contract negotiations, will likely once again be a prominent issue.

“BCMEA looks forward to meetings being scheduled in the near future with ILWU Canada and [the federal conciliation officer] in order to achieve a renewed agreement without further disruption to Canada’s supply chain,” the employers association said.

The conciliation period will last 60 days unless mutually extended by both sides.

Source:

Mongelluzzo, B. (2023, March 22). ILWU Canada triggers federal intervention in contract talks with employers: Journal of Commerce. ILWU Canada triggers federal intervention in contract talks with employers | Journal of Commerce. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-canada-triggers-federal-intervention-contract-talks-employers_20230322.html

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ILWU job action causing terminal gate delays in Los Angeles-Long Beach: PMA

“Significant delays” have hit some marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach since the middle of last week, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) said Monday, in the latest job action by dockworkers linked to ongoing West Coast contract negotiations.

PMA, which represents terminal employers in the talks that have dragged on for more than 10 months, said longshore workers represented by Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have since last Wednesday refused to stagger their meal breaks as required, resulting in periods when no work is being done on the docks.

“As a result, longshore workers at the Ports of LA and Long Beach are not working the terminals between 12 pm-1 pm and 10 pm-11 pm, creating significant delays,” PMA said in a statement. “Because the contract is not in place, there is no option for PMA to arbitrate the matter and require the union to man the terminals continuously without interruption.”

PMA provided media with photographs showing trucks backed up Friday at the Fenix Marine Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles and the ITS Terminal in Long Beach, long queues it said was the result of the job action.

Longshore workers normally take staggered lunch breaks when the coastwide contract is in effect so as not to disrupt cargo handling. Typically, half of the longshore workers take their break from 11 am to noon and the other half from noon to 1 pm so terminal gates remain open for eight consecutive hours.

Two sources close to the contract negotiations told the Journal of Commerce the job action was directed by Local 13 in Southern California over an intra-union matter involving a manning change. Although the change involves only terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach, it must be included in the coastwide contract for it to take effect.

Neither the PMA nor the ILWU commented specifically on the manning issue. But the fact the PMA statement specifically noted that ILWU Local 13 had stopped complying with the staggered lunch break requirement is telling because it suggests the disruptions in Southern California are not being directed by ILWU’s international leadership.

In a statement Monday, ILWU International President Willie Adams said longshore workers in Los Angeles and Long Beach are working every day according to terms agreed upon with the PMA. “Terminal operators, however, open and close their gates at will,” Adams said.

Meanwhile, the West Coast’s share of imports from Asia continues to erode as shippers divert discretionary cargo to the East and Gulf coasts in a bid to avoid the exact type of disruption taking place in LA-LB. Fresh data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, shows that the share of Asian imports landing on the West Coast in February slipped to 53.2 percent, down from 54.5 percent in January and 60.4 percent last May when ILWU-PMA contract talks began.

Contract talks at 10 months and counting

PMA and ILWU began negotiations last May, and while some matters such as health benefits have been resolved, there has been no agreement to date on core issues such as automation, wages, and pension benefits. Sources close to the negotiations say they see no indication that progress is being made, despite a joint ILWU-PMA release issued in late February that the two sides expected a contract resolution “soon.”

Beginning last fall, dockworkers in Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma have taken similar job actions on a sporadic basis, sources at the port and terminal level have told the Journal of Commerce. However, the PMA had never issued a statement on port-specific job actions until now.

Source:

Mongelluzzo, B. (2023, March 20). ILWU job action causing terminal gate delays in Los Angeles-long beach: PMA: Journal of Commerce. ILWU job action causing terminal gate delays in Los Angeles-Long Beach: PMA | Journal of Commerce. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-job-action-causing-terminal-gate-delays-los-angeles-long-beach-pma_20230320.html

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New NS Norfolk-Memphis service aims to grab East Coast cargo shift

Norfolk Southern Railway will launch a new international intermodal service between the Port of Virginia and Memphis beginning April 1 in a move to capture trans-Atlantic business from Europe and Asia as more cargo owners shift freight to ports along the US East Coast.

NS now serves Memphis primarily through Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. Trains moving the roughly 900 miles between Norfolk and Memphis will take four days, roughly a day longer than Savannah trains but a day shorter than trips from Charleston.

Like Charleston and Savannah, trains will run every day and serve both terminals at the Port of Virginia — Norfolk Intermodal Terminals and Virginia International Gateway. NS service out of the Port of Virginia had previously been restricted to the Midwest, or destinations in Missouri, Kentucky, and points north.

“BCOs [beneficial cargo owners] and others are continuing to look for more options, so we’re trying to provide them with another service product for capacity to get into and out of Memphis,” Alexander Luc, group vice president of international intermodal for NS, told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday.

Luc said three out of every four import loads moving to Memphis come from ports other than Charleston and Savannah, including from the West Coast. So as the share of Asian imports shift from the West Coast to East and Gulf coast ports, new opportunities may arise to capture Memphis business through Virginia and other East Coast ports.

West Coast market share of Asian imports dropped to 54.1 percent in January from 57.2 percent in January 2022, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. The East Coast share of 36.2 percent in January was up from 34.8 percent a year ago The West Coast cargo bleed comes as retailers shift their discretionary freight to avoid potential disruption linked to the failure of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and marine terminal operators to hammer out a new labor agreement after 10 months of negotiations.

“We’re not looking to just shift freight going through Savannah and Charleston today,” Luc said. “We’re targeting freight that is potentially hitting the West Coast from BCOs looking to shift their overall services and diversify their port pairings and logistics solutions.”

The Port of Virginia will place chassis in Memphis to prevent additional strain on other third-party chassis pools. The Port of Virginia owns its chassis pool, rather than relying on outside providers such as DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, and TRAC Intermodal.

Memphis ready for Virginia business

Luc said one reason why the service is launching in April is that Norfolk Southern wanted to ensure its Memphis-area terminal was capable of handling the new import and export volumes. The NS Rossville terminal, located about 30 minutes outside Memphis, was overwhelmed last fall with cargo from Charleston and Savannah; NS was forced to open three auxiliary lots to handle the spillover cargo.

“One of the reasons we didn’t launch this sooner is because we wanted to make sure that we were taking care of the existing business into the Memphis market,” Luc said.

Another reason: NS just last week completed an expansion project to increase the capacity of the Rossville terminal by 50 percent. It can now hold about 1,500 ocean containers, up from about 900 to 1,000 containers last fall.

To make the new Norfolk-to-Memphis service succeed, NS and the Port of Virginia are not only targeting importers using trans-Atlantic services from Europe and Asia, but also exporters moving goods through Memphis, like the cotton industry.

Cotton exporters could benefit from the Port of Virginia option given they have run into congestion issues getting their product to Houston, Charleston, and Savannah in the last 12 months. NS was restricting exports out of its Rossville terminal last spring as it dealt with an influx of imports and chassis shortages.

“We have talked to exporters in (Memphis) shipping products like cotton, and they’re certainly interested in looking for more port combinations to diversify,” Luc said. “Getting that balance will allow us to keep the equipment flowing in both directions.”

Source:

Ashe, A. (2023, March 9). New NS Norfolk-Memphis Service aims to grab East Coast Cargo Shift: Journal of Commerce. New NS Norfolk-Memphis service aims to grab East Coast cargo shift | Journal of Commerce. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.joc.com/article/new-ns-norfolk-memphis-service-aims-grab-east-coast-cargo-shift_20230309.html

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Cathay Pacific back to business-as-usual soon as aircraft return

Cathay Pacific will be operating all its aircraft again by the end of next year, CEO Ronald Lam said this week, noting “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Cathay still has 67 inactive aircraft, according to CH Aviation’s database, of which 11 are under maintenance. The others, which include nine A330-300s and 22 777s, are stored in Hong Kong, Alice Springs, Ciudad Real and Xiamen.

Last month saw Cathay Cargo, as it is now branded, carry nearly 60% more freight than a year earlier, when its capacity was significantly cut owing to quarantine measures. Cathay said its cargo revenue tonne km (RFTKs) went up 154% – although load factors fell as capacity went up 206%.

“In the first two months of 2023, the tonnage increased by 42.8% against a 201.3% increase in capacity and a 147.4% increase in RFTKs, compared with the same period for 2022,” the carrier said.

Despite significant changes in Cathay’s capacity this year versus 2022, a UBS research note, published yesterday on Hong Kong International Airport’s tonnage data, failed to mention the hub carrier’s challenges. It said, instead: “While yoy volume growth in Feb may seem to be a sign of airfreight recovery, we attribute that mainly to the easy comp arising from an early start to Chinese New Year in 2023.”

Cathay, meanwhile, said Hong Kong was back in business. Mr Lam told Bloomberg TV: “Hong Kong opened up late, so there’s quite a lot of catch-up. But I think we are making good progress, and we are moving very fast as a city and as an airline. I’m very confident that given a little bit more time, we’ll be back on par with other cities and airlines.”

Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau added today that, in cargo, “ad-hoc demand from South-east Asia as well as South Asia, the Middle East and Africa also helped fill the gaps left by demand from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland on long-haul routes”.

She added: “Turning to March and beyond, we are making good progress in increasing our capacity and rebuilding connectivity at the Hong Kong international aviation hub. By the end of March, the Cathay group will be operating approximately 50% of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity, covering more than 70 destinations.

“We continue to add more flights to our schedule, in particular for some of our most popular destinations,” she said, noting London, Japan and Shanghai in particular.

“On the cargo side, demand from our home market, Hong Kong, as well as the Chinese mainland is increasing, with e-commerce-related traffic picking up relatively more quickly. We are progressively expanding our network coverage as more of our passenger flights are resumed.”

WorldACD meanwhile repor today global tonnages have “stabilised, following their post-lunar new year bounceback in recent weeks and their steady decline most of last year, while average rates continue their gradual softening trends”.

Source:

Lennane, A. (2023, March 17). Cathay Pacific back to business-as-usual soon as aircraft return. The Loadstar. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://theloadstar.com/cathay-pacific-back-to-business-as-usual-soon-as-aircraft-return/