A DISPUTE over work assignments at a terminal in Seattle is casting shadows on the outcome of talks to reach a new labour contract between 22,000 dockers at 29 US west coast ports and 70 employers, reports Bloomberg
A DISPUTE over work assignments at a terminal in Seattle is casting shadows on the outcome of talks to reach a new labour contract between 22,000 dockers at 29 US west coast ports and 70 employers, reports Bloomberg. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) declared SSA Marine, with another labour organisation it didn't identify, is pursuing an intervention from the National Labour Relations Board over which workforce can perform tasks at SSA.
The ILWU declared the move to violate the collective-bargaining agreement between the union and the Pacific Maritime Association representing California, Washington and Oregon.
'We are shocked that SSA is taking such an action, and we are currently regrouping to determine how to proceed in negotiations while we watch an employer violate the very provision of the contract over which the parties were bargaining,' said ILWU coast committeeman Cameron Williams.
Jurisdiction has been a central point in the talks. The parties are trying to avert a repeat of the disruptions and shipping delays that affected the last contract talks.
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