Longshore labor

News and analysis of longshore labor, contracts, safety, strikes, disruption

The latest Longshore labor News & Analysis

Cargo operations partially resume after cyberattack hits DP World Australia

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
The incident comes as dockworkers announced a further series of strikes this week at DP World's four Australian terminals in an ongoing row over new rostering arrangements.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminalsLongshore laborInternational ports

ILA looking for local ports to bring in more union foremen

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Alongside broader talks on wages for its members, the International Longshoremen’s Association said individual ports need to use more union supervisors and foremen, particularly throughout the South.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

ILA, USMX remain at odds over dockworker wage increases: Daggett

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The ILA president says further progress on a new master contract, as well as port-specific local deals, can’t happen until the two sides agree on coastwide pay hikes.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminals

ILA's Daggett raises possibility of 2024 strike at US East, Gulf coast ports

Peter Tirschwell |
Ahead of an International Longshoremen’s Association conference, president Harold Daggett has warned union rank-and-file to be prepared for the “possibility of a coast-wide strike.”
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Southeast governors say ILA could ‘weaponize’ Leatherman court decision

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Six amicus briefs have been filed to the US Supreme Court supporting the South Carolina Ports Authority’s position that the ILA is illegally forcing carriers to boycott Charleston’s Hugh Leatherman Terminal as a means to acquire jobs that belong to state employees.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesLongshore laborTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Georgia tells Supreme Court ILA ruling could jeopardize plans for third ocean terminal

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The Georgia Ports Authority plans to open a third ocean terminal in Savannah in 2030 and says updating its current hybrid labor model to an all-union workforce could cost the port $600 million in its first operating year.
North American portsLongshore laborTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Port of Montreal labor talks head to mediation at longshore union’s request

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
While neither side has made public its terms for a new collective bargaining agreement, sources familiar with the talks say the union is looking for a 20% increase in wages over four years and a faster seniority path for dockworkers.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

Labor peace drives West Coast rebound in market share of Asian imports

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Discretionary cargo is returning to the West Coast as the confidence of retailers is boosted by ratification of the longshore labor contract in late August and the ability of the ports to immediately handle more cargo.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

ILWU bankruptcy filing provides dramatic twist to long-running Portland dispute

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
The financial health of the powerful International Longshore and Warehouse Union is in jeopardy as the union seeks to avoid paying $19 million in damages to a Portland, Ore., terminal operator over disruptive job actions years ago.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

ILWU ratifies new labor contract with West Coast waterfront employers

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Some 75% of union members participating in the vote agreed to ratify the tentative contract that was reached in mid-June, opening the door to labor peace at West Coast ports at least through mid-2028.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American ports

US shippers should begin planning now for potential 2024 disruptions: analyst

Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, Vespucci Maritime, and JOC Analyst |
In addition to the typical annual planning, such as for budgets and freight rates, US importers need to start weighing contingency plans for two potentially disruptive occurrences next year — continued low-water levels along the Panama Canal and the expiration of the International Longshoremen’s Association contract, writes Lars Jensen.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesLongshore laborNorth American portsInternational ports

Western Canadian cargo flow returning to normal following labor agreement

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are clearing out the backlog of containers that built up during the two weeks of dockworker strikes in July, with no significant vessel, rail or trucking delays to report, according to stakeholders.
North American portsMarine terminalsLongshore labor

ILA flexes to fight on multiple beachheads

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Sources say USMX has made the ILA an offer on par with the increases the ILWU secured in its latest contract. However, the ILA also wants stronger protections for work jurisdiction and automation.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Ongoing office worker contract talks the lynchpin to West Coast labor peace

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Negotiators for shipping lines and office workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach report that progress is being made in the ILWU Local 63 Office Clerical Unit (OCU) contract negotiations, but the two sides have work to do on the issues of wages, pension benefits and technology.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

ILA seeks arbitration with carriers in new Leatherman suit

Michael Angell, Associate Editor, and Teri Griffis, Associate Editor |
The latest lawsuit from International Longshoremen’s Association ups the damages the union is seeking from ocean carriers that used the Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman terminal.
Longshore laborContainer linesNorth American ports

ILWU Canada contract ratification ensures BC port peace

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The disruption laid bare the limits the Trudeau government will exercise to push both sides to a deal that was ratified Friday by longshore union membership at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Western Canada port operations normal as next union contract vote looms

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Negotiators for ILWU Canada and waterfront employers reached a second tentative contract agreement late Sunday after the union’s membership rejected an initial deal that had been struck last week.
MaritimeLongshore laborNorth American ports

ILWU Canada’s contract rejection thrusts BC ports in limbo

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The membership of the International Longshore Warehouse Union Canada has rejected a four-year contract at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, which employers say would have included a 19.2%. compounded wage increase.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsTrans-PacificNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Court denies SC Ports appeal of Leatherman ruling

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The latest decision upheld an initial ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that allowed the International Longshoremen’s Association to sue ocean carriers that called Charleston’s Leatherman terminal.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Local issues stymie movement on new master contract between ILA, USMX

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Only local unions at the ports of New York and New Jersey and Baltimore have come to tentative terms on local issues, with the ILA’s chief negotiator saying employers in other ports “have not taken the talks seriously.”
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

New Jersey port stakeholders say state police ready for oversight task

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Maritime employers expect New Jersey State Police oversight of longshore hiring in the state will be easier and less burdensome than it was under the soon-to-be dissolved Waterfront Commission.
North American portsMarine terminalsLongshore labor

ILA chief calls for global union fight against port, maritime automation

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The president of the International Longshoremen’s Association says automation and new technology are an existential threat to union members and other maritime employees worldwide.
Longshore laborContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American ports

ILWU Canada caucus approves tentative deal; membership vote expected this week

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
The rollercoaster developments of the past three weeks, which began with a 13-day strike by ILWU Canada on July 1, have disrupted cargo handling at Vancouver, Canada’s largest port and a gateway to US and Canadian markets.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

UPDATE: Western Canada longshore workers retract notice of Saturday strike

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The rejection of last week’s tentative contract deal by a caucus of ILWU Canada narrows the prospects of a resolution without one imposed by Parliament through back-to-work legislation.
Longshore laborTrans-PacificNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Longshore labor unrest a new daily fact of life for North American shippers

Peter Tirschwell |
Part of the new dynamic on the waterfront reflects wider transportation labor activism where rail, aviation, trucking and longshore workers have achieved or are seeking to achieve substantial enhancements in pay and work rules, writes Peter Tirschwell.
Longshore laborContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American ports

Post-strike recovery for western Canadian ports measured in weeks, not days: sources

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Forwarders, shipping lines and trucking interests are advising their customers it will take weeks — possibly into September — for operations at Prince Rupert and Vancouver to return to normal.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

New Jersey union claims ILA blocked it from terminal construction project

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
A union of construction equipment operators in New Jersey alleges the International Longshoremen’s Association sought to take away marine terminal work it was hired to perform.
Longshore laborNorth American ports

Western Canada port strike ends after deal reached on tentative four-year contract

JOC Staff |
The end of the strike comes less than two days after Canada’s Minister of Labour ordered the federal mediator overseeing negotiations between the union and employers to provide recommendations for a settlement.
Longshore laborNorth American ports

Canada’s Minister of Labour intervenes in bid to end dockworker strike

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
If ILWU Canada or longshore employers reject the recommendations of a federal mediator, the next step will be for the Canadian government to reconvene Parliament, which is on summer recess, to address the situation.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

ILA Charleston protest aims to up ante on expanded work jurisdiction

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The International Longshoremen’s Association says it is willing to wait as long as it takes to control the jobs it believes belong to the union at South Carolina’s new Leatherman terminal.
Longshore laborMaritimePort NewsNorth American ports

Western Canada dockworker strike disrupting billions in trade: employers

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
With the strike by ILWU Canada now in its 11th day, some C$7.5 billion in Canadian imports and exports has been compromised thus far, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association says.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Trans-Pacific carriers altering port rotations to avoid strike-hit Vancouver

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
ILWU Canada and employers are engaging with federal mediators as a backlog of vessels builds outside of Vancouver and Seattle-Tacoma as the Western Canadian dockworker strike enters its second week.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Impact of BC port strike could deepen without Ottawa's intervention

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
The strike by ILWU Canada, which entered its sixth day Thursday, is expected to have an increasing impact on Canada’s trans-Pacific trades if it drags into next week and beyond.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Vancouver, Prince Rupert face protracted port strike as talks stalemate

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Canadian business groups are pleading for Parliament to return to Ottawa and pass back-to-work legislation to end the ILWU Canada strike, but it will likely take days for the upper and lower houses to pass such legislation, if they heed the call.
Longshore labor

Shipping industry braced for extended strike at BC ports

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The pressure is on the Trudeau government to use its political capital to force a deal between employers and longshore workers at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert after the latter began a strike Saturday.
Longshore laborMaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Trudeau’s resolve in spotlight with Western Canadian ports on brink of strike

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is generally viewed within the Canadian shipping industry as having acted too slowly — and weakly — when containerized supply chains were significantly disrupted over the last three years, notes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Longshore laborTrans-PacificNorth American portsRail News

ILWU Canada plans to strike British Columbia ports on Saturday

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The union filed a 72-hour strike notice, which includes the Port of Vancouver, claiming maritime employers have refused to negotiate on the main issues of compensation and automation.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

Senators look to rein in longshore work actions with change to US labor laws

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The legislation comes less than two weeks after West Coast waterfront employers and the ILWU struck a tentative deal for a new labor contract after 13 months of contentious talks that saw the union slow down port operations on numerous occasions.
Longshore laborNorth American ports

ILWU scores 32% wage increase, $70 million bonus in tentative new contract

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
In addition to a 32% increase in dockworker wages over the life of the six-year deal, the tentative US West Coast longshore labor agreement includes a one-time $70 million bonus for staying on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Longshore laborContainer linesTrans-PacificMarine terminalsNorth American ports

Tentative West Coast longshore deal triggers lengthy ratification process

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
After 13 months of contentious negotiations that spawned numerous job actions by dockworkers, the ILWU and waterfront employers will engage in a ratification process expected to take several months.
Longshore laborContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American ports