• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » West Coast Dockworkers, Firms Vow to Avoid Upheaval Amid Contract Talks

West Coast Dockworkers, Firms Vow to Avoid Upheaval Amid Contract Talks

Port of Long Beach
A truck stops at the Port of Long Beach. Photo: Bloomberg.
May 7, 2022
Bloomberg

Labor negotiations at 29 West Coast ports are set to start this week with both sides saying they want to avoid further upheaval in supply chains that haven’t fully recovered.

Talks to hammer out a new labor contract for 22,000 West Coast dockworkers are scheduled to start May 12, ahead of the current contract’s expiration on July 1. Jim McKenna, president of the Pacific Maritime Association, which serves as a broker for about 70 carriers and terminal operators, said he’s entering negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the “spirit of cooperation.”

“Hopefully everybody is focused to the point that there will be no further disruption to a fragile supply chain,” McKenna said Friday during a virtual press briefing with Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. 

The ILWU has also expressed hope that a deal could be reached. “The men and women of the ILWU are looking forward to the opportunity to meet with the employers and seek a contract that honors, respects, and protects good American jobs,” ILWU International President Willie Adams said in a statement Friday.

Breakdowns in prior negotiations between the union and the PMA had proved crippling for shipments to the western seaboard, which is stoking fears of a repeat just as dockyards work to clear backlogs of goods brought on by pandemic disruptions and historic consumer demand for goods.

When the parties last got together to discuss contracts in 2014, West Coast ports faced months of slowdowns that only ended when the White House got involved. As they sit down to negotiate the new contract, workers are seen as having additional leverage as carriers report record profits in a tight market and ports move unprecedented amounts of cargo. 

McKenna said that cooperation between both sides strengthened during the pandemic as they had to navigate the supply shocks together. “The relationship between the two sides is really healthy,” he said.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics Global Gateways Transportation & Distribution HR & Labor Management Regulation & Compliance North America
  • Related Articles

    West Coast Dockworkers Reject Contract Extension, Seek Talks

    West Coast Ports, Dockworkers Face 2022 Clash Amid Port Snarls

Bloomberg

If Tesla Isn’t Good Enough for an ESG Index, Then Who Is?

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Warehouse worker

    Why Higher Wages Alone Won’t Solve the Supply Chain Labor Shortage

    Warehousing
  • Medical drone

    Amazon May Be Proof That Delivery Drones Aren’t Practical

    Last Mile Delivery
  • Adidas

    From Sneakers to Teslas, China Lockdowns Upend Global Supply Chains

    Coronavirus
  • ESG Guide

    Confronting the ESG Imperative in Supply Chains

  • SEC building seal

    Get Ready for the Next Phase of ESG: Mandatory Corporate Due Diligence

    Regulation & Compliance

Digital Edition

Scb may 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain ESG Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GIB USA GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Lucas Systems
Nvidia Old Dominion Parsyl
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Whiplash    
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing