Yesterday at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the ILWU resumed its past practice of withholding lashers from terminals at the nation’s largest port complex, resulting in vessels having to miss their scheduled departures. The Union also did not fill orders for labor from several terminal operators despite the fact they were placed properly and on time.
At the Port of Seattle, ILWU continued to stage disruptive work actions that led to containerized terminal operations coming to a halt. In some cases, the Union slowed down operations, resulting in longshore workers being sent home. On another shift, the Union failed to dispatch longshore workers which effectively shut down the port.
These disruptive actions by the ILWU contrast sharply with a press release issued by the ILWU on Saturday in which ILWU President Willie Adams was quoted saying, “Despite what you are hearing from PMA, West Coast ports are open as we continue to work under our expired collective bargaining agreement.”
For months, the ILWU has staged disruptive work actions targeting the West Coast’s largest ports. These actions have either slowed operations or shut them down altogether, impeding the supply chain and leaving ships and the American exports they carry sitting idle at the docks.
The Union’s actions have included delaying the daily standard dispatch process; withholding specialized workers, such as cargo-handling equipment operators or lashers; making unfounded health and safety claims; deliberately conducting inspections that are not routine, not scheduled, and done in a way that disrupt terminal operations; and improperly coordinating lunch and unit breaks to drain all labor from terminals at the same time.