Seattle Times calls for labor resolution at West Coast ports

The newspaper said the ILWU’s half-speed work tactics are hurting innocent businesses, calls for union contract with the PMA.    The Seattle Times, in an editorial Friday, scolded the International Longshore and Warehouse Union for using work slowdowns as a negotiating tactic because it is harming importers and exporters that depend on trade. Dock workers are handling cargo on the domestic trade lane between the Port of Tacoma and Alaska without incident, and the paper’s editorial board said the same consideration should be given to other industries.
   “Union workers have the right to bargain for their best interests, but the slowdown harms companies and consumers who have nothing to do with the contract negotiations,” the Times said.
   The ILWU and the West Coast terminal operators have been negotiating for seven months, but have not been able to agree on a new contract. The previous multi-year contract expired in June, but the ILWU promised to keep its members on the job to avoid a port shutdown similar to the one in 2002 that cost the economy several billion dollars. Retailers and other industry groups have urged the sides to at least sign a contract extension so that grievances can be resolved through an arbiter. As it stands, there is no enforcement mechanism to prevent the union from slowdown tactics.
   The ILWU first began scaling back available labor at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma in late October.
   Negotiators are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Tuesday after a 12-day break.