US west coast dockers, now in contract talks, are discussing whether waterfront business should start at 6am, according to the president of terminal operator SSA Containers.
Extended hours has the backing of truckers who say it would add an hour to what they consider the most productive time of the day, reports IHS Media.
Ed DeNike, president of SSA Containers, said it is just a matter of working out the details during contract negotiations in San Francisco between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).
'It's not possible under the current contract. We can flex at 7am. Maybe there's a chance to flex at 6am,' he said. SSA Marine operates container terminals in Seattle, Oakland and Long Beach.
Harbour truckers say getting earlier access each day to containers would fit in nicely with their schedules.
Said Harbour Trucking Association CEO Matt Schrap: 'The expanded hours would definitely help. We've wanted this for some time.'
The long-standing work shifts, as specified in the current coastwide contract that expires July 1, are 8am to 5 pm, 6pm to 3am, and 3 am to 8am. The contract also allows terminals to 'flex' the start times one hour early, but not by two hours. Longshoremen by contract provisions earn overtime pay whenever they start early.
Warehouses and truckers say the early-morning hours fit best into their operations. 'The earlier the better,' said Scott Weiss, vice president technical sales at Performance Team, which operates warehouses throughout the US.
To open 6am means running a shift from 3 to 8am, which is costly as dockers would be paid for eight hours for five hours of work. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, at the urging of the White House port productivity task force, have experimented sporadically with 3 to 8am shifts since last autumn.
Terminals say 3 to 8am shifts generate little, if any, truck traffic because most warehouses in southern California do not operate on a 24/7 basis.
But Mr DeNike said trucks begin lining up at 6am each morning at SSA-operated terminals awaiting 7am openings.
Mr Schrap said that in order to make the 6am gates truly beneficial for truckers, all 12 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach should open at that time so drivers can build those gates hours into their schedules. 'The most important thing is consistency throughout the harbour,' he said.
The PMA and ILWU have a media blackout during the negotiations and do not answer questions on specific issues under discussion.
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Extended hours has the backing of truckers who say it would add an hour to what they consider the most productive time of the day, reports IHS Media.
Ed DeNike, president of SSA Containers, said it is just a matter of working out the details during contract negotiations in San Francisco between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).
'It's not possible under the current contract. We can flex at 7am. Maybe there's a chance to flex at 6am,' he said. SSA Marine operates container terminals in Seattle, Oakland and Long Beach.
Harbour truckers say getting earlier access each day to containers would fit in nicely with their schedules.
Said Harbour Trucking Association CEO Matt Schrap: 'The expanded hours would definitely help. We've wanted this for some time.'
The long-standing work shifts, as specified in the current coastwide contract that expires July 1, are 8am to 5 pm, 6pm to 3am, and 3 am to 8am. The contract also allows terminals to 'flex' the start times one hour early, but not by two hours. Longshoremen by contract provisions earn overtime pay whenever they start early.
Warehouses and truckers say the early-morning hours fit best into their operations. 'The earlier the better,' said Scott Weiss, vice president technical sales at Performance Team, which operates warehouses throughout the US.
To open 6am means running a shift from 3 to 8am, which is costly as dockers would be paid for eight hours for five hours of work. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, at the urging of the White House port productivity task force, have experimented sporadically with 3 to 8am shifts since last autumn.
Terminals say 3 to 8am shifts generate little, if any, truck traffic because most warehouses in southern California do not operate on a 24/7 basis.
But Mr DeNike said trucks begin lining up at 6am each morning at SSA-operated terminals awaiting 7am openings.
Mr Schrap said that in order to make the 6am gates truly beneficial for truckers, all 12 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach should open at that time so drivers can build those gates hours into their schedules. 'The most important thing is consistency throughout the harbour,' he said.
The PMA and ILWU have a media blackout during the negotiations and do not answer questions on specific issues under discussion.
SeaNews Turkey
