A new era in US longshore labor

At the 2019 TPM on March 3-6, longshore labor will be on the agenda. As my colleague Bill Mongelluzzo writes, there is good reason to delve into this topic. Not for the typical reason that labor disruption is wreaking havoc on North American shippers' supply chains, but because labor and management have laid the groundwork for years of labor peace that holds out the promise for greater efficiency to be brought to US ports. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association reached an historic agreement in 2017 to extend the West Coast contract for five years, and the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance followed in 2018 by extending the contract covering container operations at the growing East and Gulf coasts. With agreements in place clarifying the economic terms of their contracts until 2022 on the West Coast and 2024 on the East Coast, the ILWU and ILA, together with employers, have the freedom to concentrate on refinements to the contracts that can add efficiency to vessel, yard, gate, and on-dock rail operations — improvements that the longshore unions and employers - not to mention cargo interests - all want. But there is much work to be done. As Dean Davison, technical director in the maritime practice at London-based consulting firm WSP told the JOC Port Performance North America Conference in December, “Productivity gains are not keeping pace with increased vessel and consignment sizes.” The leadership of the ILA, ILWU, USMX, and the PMA are eager to improve productivity for the simple reason that because everyone ultimately benefits. Marine terminals move greater container volumes more efficiently and at a lower cost through limited footprints. More container volume means more high-paying jobs for longshore workers. Cargo owners and truckers save time and money in taking delivery of their containers. The contracts on both coasts allow for midterm labor-management discussions, and agreements, on measures to improve port performance even though bargaining on new coastwide contracts is still three to six years off. “You don’t have to be in bargaining to bargain,” said Dave Adam, chairman and CEO of USMX. Negotiating productivity measures, however, can be a tedious and complex endeavor. In this much-anticipated session the presidents of the ILA, ILWU, USMX and PMA will discuss their plans to develop world-class cargo-handling processes. On Tuesday at TPM Bill will lead a session delving into the new opportunities that arise out of potentially long term labor peace. See the TPM agenda here: https://www.joc-tpm.com/