Crowley in deal with Puerto Rico Teamster longshoremen

   Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group said Thursday it has reached an agreement with Puerto Rico Teamsters Union Local 901 on a new five-year labor contract covering union employees working at Crowley’s San Juan terminal.
   The new contract is effective from March 27 through March 26, 2017. Crowley also employs Teamster dockworkers at its terminals in Jacksonville and Port Everglades in Florida, and in Pennsauken, N.J.
   John Douglass, Crowley’s senior vice president and general manager for Puerto Rico and Caribbean services, said “we have successfully worked with the Teamsters Union to provide uninterrupted cargo transportation services with no strikes or work stoppages for over 40 years, and we look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come.”
   Crowley is unusual, since most ships on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are loaded and unloaded by the International Longshoremen’s Association.
   Talks between the ILA and management on a new contract to replace a pact that expires on Sept. 30 began Thursday.
   Crowley said it’s the leading ocean cargo carrier in the Puerto Rico trade, transporting nearly one out of every three containers or trailers moving between the island and the U.S. mainland. The company offers up to three weekly sailings between San Juan and Jacksonville, and a weekly sailing between San Juan and Pennsauken. Crowley also provides weekly sailings between San Juan and the Dominican Republic, U.S. Virgin Islands and Eastern Caribbean.