![]() after the new “hoot” shift was implemented last year following discussions between the ILWU and Biden administration, the new “double flex” option would allow terminal operators to begin scheduling dockers at 6 a.m. While current shifts on the West Coast ports are normally 8 a.m. ![]() In an interview with Transport Topics published the day before the ILWU-PMA statement was made public, Harbor Trucking Association President Matt Schrap lent his support to a so-called “double flex” proposal. The employers are also apparently demanding longer working hours. Already, two of the 13 container terminals at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are automated, with plans for two more in progress. While the ILWU has insisted that they will not accept a contract that leads to further automation without compensation, decades of experience, including contracts in 20 which opened the door for automation, proves that this is not the case. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that automation “is shaping up to be a key flashpoint in high-stakes contract negotiations.” Jobs slated for automation include some of the most highly coveted and well-paying positions, such as crane operators and truck drivers. Conversely, to keep dockworkers on the job would also hurt the position of workers in related industries such as trucking, the railroads and warehouses.Ĭomments in the business press indicate that the PMA is pushing for major concessions from workers on the issue of automation, which it wants to use to render some of the highest-paid jobs redundant. Meanwhile, a strike vote for railroad workers has been called in the US. The month of June has already seen port strikes in Germany and Greece, a truckers’ strike in South Korea, which virtually shut down the country’s ports, as well as the first national railway strike in decades in Britain. Critically, the shipping and freight industries are increasingly assuming a central role in the strike movement. ![]() The conditions are extraordinarily favorable right now, with a “hot summer” of strikes and other social struggles taking place all over the world. To keep workers on the job past the July 1 deadline favors only the PMA. While the ILWU and PMA “are unlikely to reach a deal before the July 1 expiration of the current agreement,” the statement says, “either party is preparing for a strike or a lockout, contrary to speculation in news reports.” In fact, in a joint statement with the PMA released two weeks ago, the ILWU declared that it had no intention of even preparing for a strike. The ILWU itself had requested a suspension of talks in May, which indicates that the PMA is playing hardball and demanding sweeping concession on automation, working hours and other areas, but the union has not even bothered to call a strike authorization vote. One member of Biden’s port envoy task force put this frankly when he told an industry publication that “slowdowns or employer lockouts not be tolerated this year.” The Biden administration and corporate America as a whole are deeply concerned that a strike would not only disrupt fragile supply chains and bring much of the American economy to a halt it would also have a galvanizing effect on workers across the country, who are fighting against the spiraling cost of living. However, the ILWU has made clear that its intention is to keep workers on the job past the deadline, making a mockery of the principle of “no contract, no work.” The ILWU has been in discussions with the PMA and the Biden administration behind the backs of rank-and-file dockworkers to ensure the ports remain open and cargo flowing, even if there is no contract. The current deal is set to expire at midnight on July 1. Walsh during a tour of the Port of Seattle docks, MaĪfter over six weeks of closed-door talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), it appears the contract for 22,000 West Coast dockworkers will expire this week without a new agreement having been reached. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 19 President Herald Ugles (center) speaks with US Secretary of Labor Marty J. ![]()
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