ILWU offers counter proposal to employers

ILWU sends PMA proposals, as Congressman Bill Shuster writes to president about West Coast Longshore negotiations.    Delegates from the longshore caucus of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union received a briefing on contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association Monday as they met in San Francisco.
   Craig Merrilees, an ILWU spokesman, said the union negotiating committee met over the weekend and has responded to a comprehensive proposal the union received from the PMA last week by sending the employer group its own set of proposals this morning.
   “The ball is in their court,” he said, adding that the union believes it has responded with “excellent proposals” that will move contract negotiations forward.
   The ILWU and employers represented by the PMA have been negotiating a new contract to replace the prior six-year agreement that expired on July 1.
   Meanwhile House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., has added his voice to those calling on President Obama to help resolve the labor dispute between longshoremen and waterfront employers that is aggravating congestion at West Coast ports.
   In a letter dated Dec. 10, Shuster told Obama, “It was my hope that the ILWU and the PMA would conclude their negotiations in a timely and fair manner without disrupting the flow of commerce and harming the nation’s economy. Unfortunately, this has yet to occur. I appreciate your attention to this critical matter.”
   He said “ongoing negotiations have deteriorated in recent weeks, and alleged slowdowns and crisis level congestion, have occurred up and down the West Coast.” The union has pointed to issues such as increased cargo volumes, larger ships, new alliances of carriers, a lack of chassis and the decision by carriers to sell their chassis fleets, and shortages of truck drivers as root causes of congestion in the ports, while employers say congestion has been aggravated by worker slowdowns and failure by the union to fill orders for longshoremen with qualified workers.
   Shuster referred to a National Association of Manufacturers and National Retail Federation study last summer that estimated a five-day port shutdown could cost the economy $2 billion.
   His letter requested no specific action. Previously, business groups have asked the White House to get the two sides to agree to the appointment of a federal mediator.
   Meanwhile, congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has eased considerably in recent days. J. Kip Louttit, the executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, said this morning there were just two containerships at anchorage compared to four on Monday, five on Sunday and nine on Saturday.
   The Copenhagen-based consulting firm noted in its Sunday Spotlight newsletter this week there has been at least one benefit of the congestion in the two ports:   “Congestion in the LA/LB port complex absorbs 10 additional vessels equal to a total capacity of 72,000 TEU. The deployment of additional vessels means that the idle fleet is 1.3 percent instead of 1.7 percent.”