ICTSI says ILWU to blame for Hanjin leaving Portland

Terminal operator says it will seek other carriers for container terminal.    In the wake of the announcement earlier this week by ocean carrier Hanjin Shipping that it will stop calling the Port of Portland in Oregon, International Container Terminal Services Inc., the operator of the port’s only container terminal, laid the blame for end of service on the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and said it will seek to attract other carriers.
   “Hanjin’s decision to leave the Port of Portland on March 9, 2015, due to the sustained and deliberate actions of ILWU workers is a significant blow to the regional economy and will cause substantial disruption to many local businesses, workers and consumers,” said ICTSI. “The ILWU’s long-term campaign to undermine the success of Terminal 6 has now cost Portland a major economic contributor to our local economy and will ultimately risk the jobs of rank and file union members.”
   “Though ICTSI Oregon is very disappointed in Hanjin’s decision, we remain as committed as ever to operating a world-class terminal that helps create local jobs and drives economic growth in Oregon and throughout our region,” the company continued. “With 20 years remaining on our lease and partnership with the Port of Portland, ICTSI Oregon will continue serving our remaining shipping customers. We will also aggressively pursue new direct service for local businesses to Asia and other locations.
   “As we move forward, it is important to underscore that the success of Terminal 6 requires the ILWU to end its more than two-year campaign against carriers, ICTSI Oregon and the Port of Portland,” ICTSI said.
   The ILWU responded to Hanjin’s announcement by saying the Korean carrier’s “departure from Portland rests solely on ICTSI’s inherent refusal and failure to nurture customer relations. ICTSI’s only interest is to leverage its regional monopoly for maximum short term and unit company profit. Its customers are secondary.”
   Bill Wyatt, the executive director of the Port of Portland, said Hanjin’s withdrawal was “a tough loss for our region” and that the port had tried to keep the carrier’s business through “rebates and incentives totaling more than $11 million (all from ICTSI Oregon rent payments) as well as face to face meetings with Hanjin officials in Korea and New Jersey, an independent review of operations at T-6 and a recent change to the crane maintenance service provider.”
   ICTSI said, “In 2012, a high-ranking ILWU representative promised to send Terminal 6 carriers, including Hanjin, packing if ICTSI Oregon did not assign work to ILWU members that was controlled by the Port of Portland and historically performed by another union. Since that time, the ILWU has embarked on a long-standing and continuing campaign of work stoppages, slowdowns and safety gimmicks calculated to drive away the terminal’s customers and put ICTSI Oregon out of business.
   “Two separate National Labor Relations Board judges have ruled against the ILWU for these actions, which violated federal labor law,” ICTSI added. “Local federal judge Michael Simon also issued an injunction against continuation of the ILWU’s conduct, a court order that the union violated. This violation resulted in a December 16, 2014 order from Judge Simon finding the ILWU in contempt of court.
   “Despite legal rulings against its subversive tactics, the ILWU’s campaign to drive Hanjin out of Portland has intensified. Productivity has slowed to a crawl, and ILWU gangs have walked off the job on numerous occasions. Vessels have been delayed time and time again by these tactics.” said ICTSI. “As a result of the ILWU’s campaign, Portland has the lowest vessel productivity of any container terminal on the West Coast, and Hanjin has decided to cease its calls on Portland.”