Longshore labor

Marine terminals in Southern California are struggling to provide enough dockworkers trained to operate complex machinery as a strong peak shipping season extends well into October.

The agreement ends weeks of intense negotiations and warning strikes that heavily disrupted container shipping operations across northern Germany.

The terminal operator’s plans for further automation overseas prompted US, Canadian and other longshore unions to issue a statement about port technology.

New legislation in Parliament designed to change the country’s Labor Code comes ahead of the expiration of two major labor contracts involving British Columbia ports and Canadian National Railway.

Introduction of a bill being called “Build Canada Strong” comes ahead of the March expiration of the contract between Western Canadian maritime employers and longshore unions.

A further round of strikes at German ports would likely worsen port congestion and schedule reliability on major trades.

With dockworkers in Germany walking out and Dutch unions preparing to strike on Friday, the on-time performance of ocean carriers on Asia-Europe trade lanes has fallen to unprecedented lows.

Verdi has called for about 11,000 port employees to walk off the job tonight in key hubs including Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven as wage talks fail.

After representing clerical workers in Southern California for decades, the ILWU Office Clerical Unit has successfully organized the terminal operator’s clerical workers in Utah as it launches a move to inland locations.

SC Ports said an uncertain trade outlook in the back half of 2026 coupled with the need to lower costs drove the decision to shutter the terminal for a “short-term pause.”

The coming legislation is part of a larger effort by Prime Minister Mark Carney to double non-US exports within the decade and boost supply chain resilience by investing in ports and curbing freight disruptions.

Stockholders representing 97% of the shares in Zim, equivalent to 57.2 million shares, voted Thursday in favor of the $4.2 billion deal that was announced in mid-February.

The move comes at a delicate moment — months before dockworker negotiations are set to begin on Canada’s West Coast in November ahead of the expiration of the current contract next March.

It has become difficult, if not impossible, for Los Angeles-Long Beach terminals wishing to automate to gain the necessary approvals from port commissions, despite the terminals’ right to automate being guaranteed since 2008.

The port’s Cast and Racine terminals remained open to vessels during the five-month strike by clerical staff, which began last September.

Even if the terminal operator arm of the Virginia Port Authority violated the terms of its contract with the International Longshoremen’s Association, the VPA’s influence did not violate national labor law, the court said in its ruling.

The entire port workforce walked off the job almost two weeks ago to protest a government decision to lease the port’s busiest terminal to DP World.

The likely sale this year of the Port of New York and New Jersey’s largest marine terminal portends possible changes to how it will be operated in the long run.

Marine terminals are using the new longshore contract to tackle one of the port’s recurring problems, with the union’s support, as they look to boost efficiency at the biggest port along the US East Coast.

Multiple local sources told the Journal of Commerce the escalating unrest that entered its fifth day Wednesday has brought all port operations, including vessel berthing and cargo clearance, to a halt. 

The state senate is considering a new bill that would block state funds from going toward port automation, with longshore workers adding their support.

While the conclusion of arbitration should provide more stability to shippers using Montreal, Canada’s other East Coast gateways will soon face their own contract negotiations.

The Virginia Port Authority said the longshore union’s lawsuit alleging violations of the master contract doesn’t give clear picture of when it knew about the new rail gantry cranes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sunday to sign or veto a bill that ocean carriers and terminal operators say would derail current and future attempts to automate cargo-handling operations in the name of reducing stress on the state’s power grid.

The fresh disruptions come as the Asia-Europe trade lane continues to present shippers with the worst schedule reliability among the major ocean corridors.

The four-year pacts with Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal were confirmed by the Maritime Union of Australia on Thursday.

The union claims the Virginia Port Authority is tacitly violating the new master contract’s technology clauses through its influence over the port’s main terminal employer.

S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Global Port Congestion Analysis shows that half of Northern Europe’s ports reported year-over-year declines in port moves per hour in the second quarter, while Asian ports faced higher arrival process times and mixed efficiency results.

Canada’s port stakeholders are hopeful the new prime minister and world-renowned economist will fast-track major projects and modernize labor negotiations.

The gathering will be closely watched by ocean carriers, shippers and container terminal operators in the US and Europe for signs that global unions are developing a coordinated cross-border “solidarity strike” strategy.

A wide-ranging report commissioned by Canada’s Labor Ministry says British Columbia’s ports are vulnerable to strikes in part because of disparate longshore unions involved in contract talks.

Maritime employers along Canada’s West Coast have a new agreement that will avert the type of labor actions seen late last year.

F. Paul De Maria will become the new CEO of the group representing ocean carriers and marine terminal operators at East and Gulf coast ports.

Canada’s labor minister will take a direct hand after the mediated talks for a new longshore contract at the port failed to achieve a deal after 18 months of negotiations.

Montreal’s port chief says a successful outcome after nearly two years of talks between port employers and the longshore union will be critical to restoring shipper trust.

Ports across the continent are struggling to clear bottlenecks as containers stack up in terminals and delay inland and feeder connections.

Labor peace at US East and Gulf coast ports is now ensured through September 2030 after the union’s rank and file approved the new labor agreement.

Sources tell the Journal of Commerce the union will convene a midweek meeting in Florida of its local wage scale committees across the 14 ports under its jurisdiction.

While the draft language of the tentative agreement was not disclosed, the two sides said the deal includes language that covers the contentious issue of port automation and new technologies.

While the two sides have come to terms on wages, formal negotiations have stalled since mid-November as the union and maritime employers remain stuck on what provisions the deal will include about port automation.