Matson-West Coast merchantmen contract talks slow going

Matson-West Coast merchantmen contract talks slow going The three unions representing merchantmen employed by Jones Act ocean carrier Matson Navigation Co. in the West Coast trade are reporting that while negotiations continue over a new labor contract, the talks have not been progressing.
   The current collective bargaining agreement between Matson and the three merchantmen unions — the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the Marine, Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Association and the Seafarers International Union-Marine Cooks — expired at midnight Monday, as do the SUP and MFOW Maintenance Agreements. The SUP and MFOW agreements covering four of the newest Matson vessels do not expire until 2013, but the unions are demanding that the master contract agreement under negotiation apply to these vessels as well.
   Negotiations continued with additional sessions expected through Monday.
   The SUP, MFOW and SIUMC contracts, while expiring on the same day, are not related to the ongoing contract talks between West Coast shipping carriers and the 26,000 dockers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
   On June 17, SUP membership approved a strike resolution, giving union representatives the option of calling a strike after the June 30 expiration of the current contract. The affected MFOW membership also passed a similar strike resolution.
   The unions' main goals in the negotiations, beyond consolidating the current agreements, have been to increase current pension benefits, achieve a general wage increase and improve work rules.
   'Thus far, Matson and its minions have been less than responsive,' the SUP told members in a June 20 newsletter. The unions also said that during the June 18 bargaining session, Matson was 'dismissive of the Union pension proposals.'
   Despite these statements to their membership, union officials remained hopeful that a deal could be reached.
   While it is Matson corporate policy to not comment on ongoing contract negotiations, the firm, in a statement, did characterize the discussions as still being in 'good faith.' Matson officials have also said the unions have told Matson negotiators that calling a strike is not the unions' first option if the current contract expires.
   The 121-year-old Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the oldest continual U.S. maritime union, represents a total of about 4,000 workers, with about 2,000 being employed by Matson.