A local labor dispute in Portland that started more than a decade ago is jeopardizing the financial health of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to the point the union has resorted to filing for bankruptcy protection to avoid paying a $19 million court judgement.
The ILWU’s filing for Chapter 11 protection Friday in the US Bankruptcy Court for Northern California in San Francisco resulted from five years of work stoppages and slowdowns from 2012-17 at Terminal 6 in Portland. The US District Court in Portland in 2019 initially found the ILWU International and ILWU Local 6 in Portland liable for $93 million in damages to the operations of ICTSI Portland, which operated Terminal 6 at the time. The court in 2020 reduced the award to $19 million.
While sources say the complex case before the bankruptcy court could take weeks to sort out, the legal machinations are not expected to result in cargo-handling interruptions on the West Coast. The Port of Portland now operates Terminal 6.
“I would not expect there will be any job actions,” James McKenna, president of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents terminal operators and shipping lines and negotiates the coastwide labor contract with the ILWU, told the Journal of Commerce Monday.
McKenna said that in the remote possibility the ILWU engages in any job actions, the grievance procedure in the new coastwide contract, which was ratified before Labor Day, would allow arbitrators to step in immediately to stop any interruptions.
Terminal operator ICTSI Portland told the Journal of Commerce Monday it does not believe the ILWU’s attempt to avoid the $19 million court-ordered payment via bankruptcy will succeed.
“The facts have already been legally established before the National Labor Relations Board and in numerous court proceedings, including before a Portland, Oregon jury, which in 2019 found the ILWU liable for its illegal conduct,” ICTSI said in a statement.
ILWU slams terminal operator’s ‘scorched-earth’ tactic
Details please refer to JOC news.
Source:
Mongelluzzo, B. (2023, October 2). ILWU bankruptcy filing provides dramatic twist to long-running Portland dispute. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-bankruptcy-filing-provides-dramatic-twist-long-running-portland-dispute_20231003.html