Contract negotiations between several North American Dockworker unions and ports have the potential to snarl port operations and the movement of freight. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada and the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) in the U.S. are advocating for their members to agree to new contract terms with the Ports of Vancouver and South Carolina with different results.
PORT OF VANCOUVER ILWU
In response to a strike vote by Canadian longshore foremen against DP World’s terminal at the port of Vancouver, Canada’s labor tribunal ruled on Sunday the strike was unlawful. This decision prevented the maritime employer from threatening to fire the longshore foremen.
Following the 72-hour strike at DP World Centerm last Friday by Local 514 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada, the British Columbia Maritime Employer’s Association (BCMEA) requested a hearing from the Canada Industrial Relation Board (CIRB). The CIRB found that Local 514 “failed to bargain in good faith when it conducted a strike vote among the employees of only one member employers of the BCMEA and issued a strike notice based on that strike vote.”
The strike vote was held before a CIRB hearing about a complaint the BCMEA filed against Local 514, claiming that the union was “protracting negotiations” over a new contract. The hearing is set for August. The BCMEA declared it was ready to impose a port-wide lockout that would have stopped all cargo operations, except for grain and cruise ships, had the union won at the CIRB. ILWU Canada negotiates independently from the ILWU on the US West Coast, even though both are a part of the international union.
The installation of remotely operated rail-mounted gantry cranes at Centerm by the terminal operator prompted Local 514, which represents over 700 union foremen, to attempt to negotiate separate staffing and work norms with DP World. In violation of the coastwide agreement with all employers, according to the BCMEA. These cranes were part of an expansion project finished last year that increased the capacity of the Centerm by 60% to 1.5 million TEUs per year.
SOUTH CAROLINA ILA
At the end of June, South Carolina Port and the ILA announced in a joint statement “that after productive and collaborative conversations, we have mutually developed and agreed to the framework for an operating agreement that will create long-term stability and competitiveness for the Port of Charleston while providing an enhanced product. More importantly, SC Ports and ILA worked together to protect jobs to create a seamless transition toward a future that recognizes a trained and experienced workforce across all SC Ports’ terminals. SC Ports and ILA are ready to welcome our USMX partners at the Leatherman Terminal for many years to come without hesitation as all obstacles to operations have been removed.”
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