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On the evening of April 6th, 2023 the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach closed due to manpower shortages. The International Longshoremen Workers Union (ILWU) local 13 crane operators and top handler drivers rejected job assignments during the evening of April 6th and activity remains stalled at the ports today. Reports from Maersk stated every terminal in the harbor canceled vessel, yard, rail and gate operations, with no certainty as to whether they would start again today.
Below is a statement from the Pacific Maritime Association released today:
Statement from the Pacific Maritime Association
April 7, 2023
The largest ILWU local on the West Coast has taken a concerted action to withhold labor at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, resulting in widespread worker shortages. A majority of the jobs for last night’s shift went unfilled, including all jobs for cargo-handling equipment operators needed to load and unload cargo. The workers who did show up were released because there was not a full complement of ILWU members to operate the terminals.
ILWU Local 13 withheld labor again for this morning’s shift. The action by the Union has effectively shut down the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the largest gateway for maritime trade in the United States.
The Union’s coordinated actions are occurring while negotiations for a new coastwise contract continue. This latest work action comes three weeks after ILWU Local 13 in Southern California stopped complying with a contract provision providing employers the right to assign staggered shifts during meal periods.
These actions undermine confidence in West Coast ports, and threaten to further accelerate the diversion of discretionary cargo to Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. The health of the Southern California and state economy depend on the ability of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to stem this market share erosion.
The ILWU and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) have been in contract negotiations since last May. This latest disruption is indicative of the long road ahead for ongoing labor negotiations between the ILWU and PMA. Forbes reports, "Exporters, especially those who move agricultural and forest products through West Coast ports, are probably the ones who will suffer the most. They need reliable transportation, and disruptions make it difficult to full commodity contracts."
KRIEGER Worldwide will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and send any critical updates to all of our clients.
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