Long Line of Cargo Ships off Belmont Shore Coast to Inch Along Again

That long line of ships off the Belmont Shore coast? They’ll start inching forward again as a longshoremen work-stoppage came to an end Monday. However, they won’t go away entirely anytime soon due to labor unrest and an ongoing slowdown.

Crews resumed loading and unloading cargo at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports today, following a weekend work stoppage at 29 West Coast harbors.

A line of about 20 ships stretched outside the twin ports over the weekend as work loading and unloading vessels came to a standstill under an order by the Pacific Maritime Association.

The organization represents West Coast port employers who are engaged in contentious labor negotiations with the dockworkers’ union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Port officials said the line was reduced to 16 ships as of this morning as work picked up again today.

Long Beach port spokesman Lee Peterson said port officials are urging a resolution to the labor dispute and are “concerned we’re going to lose business,” with some customers reportedly going to Gulf Coast ports and harbors in Canada.

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Some work was done this weekend, with some terminals getting cleared out over the weekend, Los Angeles port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said, but with the halt in loading and unloading, activity was slower compared to the last weekend.

Port employers said they ordered the work stoppage because productivity has dropped by as much as 50 percent due to an illegal work slowdown.

“After three months of union slowdowns, it makes no sense to pay extra for less work, especially if there is no end in sight to the union’s actions which needlessly brought West Coast ports to the brink of gridlock,” PMA spokesman Wade Gates said last week.

Union officials have countered that talks are “extremely close” to a resolution and have denied the claim that employees were intentionally working slower. They said employees are not given enough training opportunities so there are not enough qualified employees who can come to work.

Congestion at the ports in recent months have also been attributed to industry-wide changes that include larger ships dropping off and picking up more cargo at the ports.

Craig Merrilees, spokesman for ILWU, said the weekend work stoppage led to “delays for customers needing containers.”

“The union remains focused on reaching a settlement as quickly as possible with employers,” Merrilees said. “Talks to resolve the few remaining issues between the Longshore Union and Pacific Maritime Association are ongoing.” Port management and dockworkers have been engaged in federal mediation over renewal of a contract that expired in July.

PMA officials announced last week they gave the union their best contract offer, which included raising wages 3 percent each year of the five year contract and increasing pensions.

Merrilees said at the time that the contract was days old and not the main point of contention in the talks. He called the weekend work stoppage “shocking,” considering that the two sides are still negotiating. ILWU officials said this week the two sides were “extremely close” to resolving their issues.

• City News Service