INDICATIONS are that the dockers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have won the right to fire arbitrators whose rulings displease them.
Details of the tentative agreement have not been released, but an Associated Press report said the deal would require arbitrators to reapply for their positions, attributing the information to US Labour Secretary Thomas Perez.
While the right to dismiss the arbitrator would be given both to management and the union, according to American Shipper, most arbitrations favour management because most result from workplace disruptions in violation of the contract.
For instance, had there been a contract in force during the negotiations all the go-slows and supply chain sabotage would have undoubtedly won rulings favouring management had an arbitrator been allowed to work.
It now appears that the accused union members can fire the judge if found guilty, after which the judge can reapply for his job.
If the deal between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) holds, it also marks the beginning of a Herculean task of clearing the mess of US west coast cargo congestion.
Industry experts agree that it will take months for Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma to return to "normal" operations, report's Newark's Journal of Commerce
Because it is not just the mess that has accumulated over nine months - it's also the mega mess to come as a flood of containers from waiting and expected ships rush the still congested docks.
Oakland said it would the port six to eight weeks to recover from the cargo backlog, which some industry analysts say is optimistic. Three months is more like it, they say.
Also go-slows and supply chain sabotage may flare up again. Previous hiatus situations between agreements in principle and done deals have been marked by "industrial action".
The go-slows and supply chain sabotage this time, meant that the situation was worse than in 2002 ten-day lockout, said Paris-based shipping consultancy Alphaliner.
"Back then, following a ten-day lockout at USWC ports, some 75 containerships waited at anchorage, resulting in a cargo backlog that took over six weeks to clear," said its weekly newsletter.
According to an Alphaliner vessel survey, carriers currently deploy 61 additional ships with a total capacity of 364,000 TEU to fill the sailing gaps left by vessels that got stuck on the coast.
"This number includes 14 ships that have been deployed to the US east coast ad hoc, in order to handle additional loads caused by cargo diversions away from the congested USWC gateways to the normally working USEC ports," it said.
Then there is the long-term damage. Shippers in surveys have indicated they will most likely shift some cargo volume to east coast ports like Charleston and Savannah, which suffer little to no labour disruption.
These ports experienced increases in volumes from diverted cargo. Two-thirds of the US population lives east of the Mississippi and big box retailers that dominate container traffic are based there.
Alphaliner noted that since containerisation was introduced in the US ports in 1956, waterfront union power has increased despite declining numbers dockers.
"Despite the recent confrontation and industrial action, which have come at a high cost for shippers and which caused severe disruptions to the supply chains, there is currently no political will to reform the United States' antagonistic contracting system," said Alphaliner.
"Another round of potentially disruptive negotiations can therefore be expected in 2018 for the US east coast and 2019 for the US west coast, when the labour contracts are set to expire," it said.
PORTS
24 February 2015 - 22:38
Dock deal looks like union won right to fire labour arbitrators
INDICATIONS are that the dockers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have won the right to fire arbitrators whose rulings displease them.
PORTS
24 February 2015 - 22:38
Dock deal looks like union won right to fire labour arbitrators
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