FIRST THURSDAY REPORT, 12:25 PM: If you’ve noticed anything unusual today at the port facilities in and near West Seattle: Reports are circulating that longshore workers in Seattle and elsewhere are off the job today in relation to a dispute that turned violent in Longview. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is quoted as saying it’s “investigating” those reports; the Port of Seattle has issued a statement acknowledging “work is not occurring at our terminals today”:
The Port of Seattle is aware that work is not occurring at our terminals today, as longshore workers are not present. Port of Seattle terminals are leased to terminal operators who work directly with ILWU for staffing. We do not know when work will resume. We will send an update at 3:00 pm today.
Here’s the ILWU’s side of the story about what’s happening in Longview. The dispute has been simmering for a while, as chronicled on the union’s Facebook page.
THURSDAY 1:09 PM UPDATE: Labor Notes quotes ILWU as saying no action had been formally called, but “large numbers of individuals appear to have taken action on their own.”
EARLY FRIDAY MORNING: Our partners at the Seattle Times have updated the situation. No followup statement emerged from the Port of Seattle Thursday afternoon/evening; it remains to be seen if work will resume today.
8:25 AM FRIDAY MORNING: The Port has issued a short statement saying operations are back to “normal” today.
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