Port Talks Suspended; Battle Lines Drawn
Negotiations between International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) leaders and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) have been suspended, and after rejecting the most recent offer from the PMA, which was submitted on July 21, the ILWU began setting up protests at a Home Depot close to the Port of Los Angeles.
“The union made an offer to the PMA last week,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “The PMA made a counteroffer and the union wasn’t pleased with it.”
On July 24, union officials staged a rally in front of the PMA’s headquarters in San Francisco, while sympathizers began passing out fliers at the aforementioned Home Depot, urging customers of that store to support labor by taking their business from the store unless it agrees to withdraw from the West Coast Waterfront Coalition.
Although negotiations between the two groups have been put on hold, both sides have agreed to continue to extend the deadline, perhaps continuing the talks next week. The rally and protest have been the only hostile actions thus far, but according to Kyser, there are other concerns.
“So far there have been no slowdowns, but there are some congestion issues, because people have ordered additional merchandise in anticipation of a slowdown or lockout,” he said.
The key issues remain loss of jobs for the ILWU and advancement of technology with resultant cost savings for the PMA. —Darryl James
