ILWU workers walk off job at container terminal in Portland

ICTSI Oregon says actions against it are “far beyond ‎what other West Coast ports are experiencing.”    ICTSI Oregon, Inc., which operates Terminal 6, the container terminal in the Port of Portland, said the ILWU has escalated actions against its facility, “far beyond ‎what other West Coast ports are experiencing.”
   Michael Garone, an attorney for the company, issued a statement that said on Tuesday, “the ILWU ordered a 12-hour work stoppage ‎commencing at 7:00 a.m.”
   On Wednesday, it said ILWU members “worked during the morning, but walked off ‎the job without notice at 1:15 p.m. Work stoppages like this cause serious hardship to truckers, ‎shippers, and the general public.‎
   “During the busy 2014 holiday season, ILWU ‎engaged in approximately 36 work stoppages and slowdowns of various types and for varying ‎durations. Similar efforts, along with intentional labor shortages, have continued into the first ‎month of 2015,” Garone added.
   ICTSI, which is headquartered in Manila in the Philippines, said “productivity at Terminal 6 continues to fall well below acceptable historical levels. In ‎May 2012, prior to the labor dispute which arose in June 2012, ILWU labor was producing ‎approximately 24.8 moves per hour. However, in the last quarter of 2014, ILWU labor was ‎producing at only approximately 13.2 moves per hour — a roughly 47 percent reduction. This level of ‎production is far below industry as well as Terminal 6 standards.
   “Terminal 6 is the only international shipping container terminal in Oregon. As such, it is a ‎powerful economic engine to the region that offers significant benefits to thousands of ‎businesses, workers and consumers. For this reason, the ILWU’s deliberate and continuous work ‎delays since June 2012 threaten the terminal’s future viability as a critical hub of regional ‎economic activity. For the sake of the state’s long-term economic well-being, ICTSI Oregon, ‎Inc. strongly encourages the ILWU to end its work stoppages, slowdowns and labor shortages, ‎and increase port productivity to historical levels,‎” the terminal operator said.