Dock talks reach pivotal point: Terminal operators make ‘all-in’ offer; ILWU says the two sides are ‘extremely close’

(January 2015 photo by James Bratsanos – cargo ships anchored off Manchester, a holding zone for Tacoma)
Depending on how you interpret what the two sides in the Seattle-and-beyond West Coast dock talks are saying right now, a deal – or a port shutdown – could be close. It’s been more than half a year since the International Longshore and Warehouse Union‘s contract with the terminal operators, under the umbrella of the Pacific Maritime Association, expired. The PMA says it made an offer Wednesday that it calls “all-in” – detailed here. The ILWU describes the two sides as “extremely close” and says it’s “dropped” some issues in hopes of a resolution. But the organizations’ respective statements indicate continuing disagreement over what’s led to loaded freighters waiting at anchor and trucks backing up from the docks – the PMA continues to allege “ILWU slowdowns” while the union alleges the problem is an “employer-caused congestion crisis.” In a video linked from the PMA website, its president James McKenna claimed West Coast ports are as little as a week from “collapse” and says the offer is “as far as we can go at this time.” ILWU president Robert McEllrath, meantime, says, ““Closing the ports at this point would be reckless and irresponsible.”

20 Replies to "Dock talks reach pivotal point: Terminal operators make 'all-in' offer; ILWU says the two sides are 'extremely close'"

  • WSEA February 5, 2015 (10:42 am)

    “Full-time ILWU workers already earn an average of $147,000 per year, and would see their wages rise
    roughly 3 percent per year, along with fully paid health care that costs employers $35,000 per worker
    per year. The maximum ILWU pension would rise to $88,800 per year as part of the proposed five-year
    contract. ”

    Did the union give up anything to meet halfway? I would think the union could at least pickup some of healthcare cost. I guess this contract is a living wage in seattle.

  • IR8trucker February 5, 2015 (4:44 pm)

    SO PMA does a full court press on the wages and benefits offered to the ILWU workers. What about the other concerns like safety, staffing levels, etc? How are they responding to those concerns? Now I’m not taking anybody’s side in this, but it appears the PMA is only talking about wages and benefits to get the general public riled up about how good the dockworkers have it instead of addressing all of the issues. Let’s face it. If the contract dispute is only about money and benefits, it should be ending soon with the information the PMA has shared.

    What do you say PMA? What about the other issues? Are the Longshoremen greedy crybabies, or is there more to the story than you are sharing?

  • Mark47n February 5, 2015 (5:23 pm)

    I’ve been a part of a few disputes (IBEW) and have family and friends in other unions. One thing to keep in mind is that the earnings information that is frequently put out is incomplete and doesn’t discuss things like the amount of OT that those workers have. Also, it’s common for people to not realize that that big number may also include monies that are paid into other funds and is not the actual amount that the worker sees.

    Keep in mind that neither side will provide us, the public, a complete and accurate picture.

  • hogtiefly February 5, 2015 (5:48 pm)

    “Greedy crybabies” +1
    For a number of years west coast Long shoremen have firmly established themselves on several lists of most overpaid occupations in our country.
    And yes, it does appear that you’ve taken sides. ..as I’m honest enough to admit I have.

  • carole February 5, 2015 (5:57 pm)

    I Have no connection with any port people. Still lots of questions. If average worker earns 147K, then some earn more, some less. What percent actually earn top dollar? Are shippers reinstating the overnight shifts? Loss of those presumably created loss of jobs. How many years of work at what salary level does it take to earn that top pension? Seriously, what percentage get there?

  • WSince86 February 5, 2015 (9:31 pm)

    IR8Trucker- I have enjoyed and learned from your comments in the past. Please, flesh out your comments and educate us general public as to what is really going on down there, in your opinion, of course.

  • IR8trucker February 6, 2015 (2:23 am)

    hogtiefly, While the longshoremen are well paid, I don’t know that I would agree that they are the most overpaid occupation in the country. Considering the ILWU claims the US Dept. of labor cites West Coast longshore work as extremely hazardous, with higher fatality rates than the work of firefighters or police officers, and the history between the longshoremen and the port operators, I would have to ask are they really overpaid?

    You think I have taken a side in this? You are mistaken. I don’t have enough information to chose a side. I do know that actions on both sides have cost friends, coworkers and my own family lost income, longer work hours, lots of inconvenience and much uncertainty. And none of us has any say in the matter. I will say that I am a little biased against PMA though, especially after the last port lockout. With the lack of real information regarding the demands and proposals of the contract talks it is difficult to gauge who might be being unreasonable. PMA posting information about wages and benefits as they have is designed to make people think the ILWU members are just greedy spoiled union members. What they failed to mention is that the benefits were settled last August and wages were not the top of the list of demands. So I ask again, what about the other demands? What exactly are they and what is happening with them? You now the pesky little things like safety.

  • IR8trucker February 6, 2015 (2:56 am)

    WSince86, I do appreciate the compliment. While my posts are my own opinions, they are generally based on personal observation, and research. I take great effort to not just repeat what ever spin is going around. I will try to keep you, and the rest here at WSB in mind as I get answers and figure out which side needs the timeout more.

  • Liver February 6, 2015 (7:26 am)

    What is the ILWU giving in return for the huge salaries, $0 cost healthcare for life and $88,000 per year pensions?
    More productivity?
    More efficient use of their time?
    More cooperation with their employees?
    Reduced restrictions on their work rules?

    The answer is Nope, Not and Noway.
    These people drive little trucks on a terminal for ridiculous pay. They are worth about $40k per year…
    Largely they are all in the ILWU through nepotism.
    They always talk about rights of the workers, but what about the rights of all the workers pay checks and jobs they are destroying with thier tactics???
    Nobody is angry about people making good money…
    What people are angry about is that such a small closed arrogent group of people can disrupt the entire nations economy…

  • JTB February 6, 2015 (8:39 am)

    It is the responsibility of the employers to provide a supply of chassis sufficient to handle the volume of containers. I don’t know what the games are behind the shortage of chassis that have led to back ups in a number of the West Coast ports, but I believe the ILWU has attempted to make that a point in the negotiations.

    Of course, this is an industry that is seeing improvements in productivity through new technology. And as has happened in similar circumstances elsewhere, the greater profits are siphoned off by management and shared with investors while working conditions/benefits deteriorate. The number of dock workers is steadily declining and will continue to do so. There are no real constraints on management in this country to continue to extract concessions from labor. What is sad is to see so many working people taken in by the propaganda and resent the tiny remnant of unionized workers trying to hold on to the benefits that were earned, earned through blood, sweat and tears of their co-workers over the years. That’s just one indication of why the future for working people in this country is increasingly grim.

  • JH February 6, 2015 (10:20 am)

    Imagine the ILWU workers as one worker. They make the shipping companies billions of dollars a year in profits that, after paying the longshoremen a very small percentage of that, they then send that money back to their home countries. It’s funny to me how people from the outside can look in and say longshoremen are lazy. If you think that, well, I’m sure you wouldn’t last a week down there. Many people who have been given the opportunity have walked away from it because it is dangerous, exhausting skilled work that probably looks pretty easy to some of you sitting at a desk all day getting sores on your rear end. You are the first kinda people to quit when given the opportunity. What are you worth for what you do? Your employer should cut you down to minimum wage.
    The ports being backed up right now has less to do with labor negotiations than the arrival of super carriers and shipping companies that are run like bloated bureaucracies that can’t get their ship together. The PMA knew about the chassis problem over a year ago. Long before the ports started becoming backed up.
    A bit of advice: before you get foot-in-mouth disease, you should do some real research and investigate both sides of the issue before you spout.

  • miws February 6, 2015 (11:03 am)

    Well put, JTB.

    .

    Also, thanks to IR8trucker for your contributions and thoughts on all of this.

    .

    Mike

  • IR8trucker February 6, 2015 (12:04 pm)

    Liver, Do you really think longshoremen get $0 healthcare for life? You appear to have mistaken them for our politicians.
    Do you really think all longshoremen spend their days driving a little truck? No wonder you’re jealous.
    Why are you not angry with PMA if you feel people are just angry at a small closed group of people who can disrupt an entire economy? Their tactics are more disruptive to the economy, and to the lives of others, than any the longshoremen have used.
    One thing I don’t understand is why people like you focus on the benefits earned by longshoremen? At a time when republicans are trying to dismantle Social Security and most corporations have eliminated pensions, why do you begrudge a person, or group what they have earned? Do you pay for it? Is it just jealousy? I’m really curious and I never seem to get an answer even though it is a common phenomenon. Most of the time it appears to be jealousy. That is why groups like PMA put out press releases with those numbers to agitate peoples perception of workers they want to villainize when they could just as easily give information using generic terms.

  • IR8trucker February 6, 2015 (12:38 pm)

    Well put JTB and JH.
    I’ve finally gotten somewhere on the chassis issue. It hadn’t really gotten my attention until recently because I don’t normally use a port chassis, and haven’t relied on them regularly for some years now.
    So, the shipping companies (Who traditionally supplied chassis for all their containers) decided their new business model did not include supplying, and more importantly maintaining, chassis. Thus eliminating a slew of union mechanics (And union wages) in the process. This explains why I had been hearing about so many more chassis needing repairs before being able to leave the ports than I used to. Anyway, the shipping companies sold all the chassis to leasing companies. The leasing companies then supply them to the ports and maintain them using what ever mechanics suite them. Now we have more chassis being red tagged and sidelined for repairs. Some ports are stockpiling chassis “Just in case” leaving other ports with a shortage. And another disturbing find was the pictures of huge piles of chassis at the recyclers recently. Combine this with the new mega ships coming into port loaded with even more containers than ever before and this is why there is a chassis shortage, and a large part of why the ports are so backed up.
    Jurisdiction of chassis repair and maintenance used to fall under the ILWU contract and is one of the demands of the union. One that PMA recently appeared to accept. This little tidbit makes me feel a little embarrassed for chastising the union for their part in the recent slowdown. I can’t recall if I explained it here before or not, so I will again.
    In the normal course of work longshoremen find ways to be more efficient at their jobs, in spite of PMA’s efforts at efficiency. At times to help make a point they will slowdown (Which irritates the snot out of me) using a tactic called “work to rule” They don’t really slow down, they just skip all the shortcuts they have learned and work to the rules the ports have enacted. In other words, they are working the way they should have been working all along. Well in this particular case part of the slow down has been due to the extra vigilance of inspecting the chassis not maintained by union mechanics. You know, the ones that are turning up broken and unsafe more often then they used to.

    Unlike for the PMA, where control, cost savings, and profits are the motivation for their actions, the ILWU puts safety and working conditions at the top of their to do list. I won’t pretend wages and benefits are far behind, but safety and working conditions are the priority.

  • Jeff February 6, 2015 (3:31 pm)

    Good grief.

    The priority is to get paid.

    Working safely and in a cost effective manner is a given.

    Employer and employee do not set out to see people hurt or killed, and not being cost effective eventually causes business to go elsewhere.

    As for ILWU members being overpaid… nuts. They are getting paid what the market for their services will bear.

    Relative has nothing to do with it. Don’t like it? Change careers.

    And spare me the pro/anti union stuff. I’m an agnostic private business owner.

  • Collin February 6, 2015 (7:45 pm)

    I didn’t know what a longshoreman was until about 6 years ago a customer of mine gave me a union interest card. I was selected to be in the casual longshoreman pool. I work on a rotation with hundreds of other casuals who show up for work almost every day waiting for leftover jobs from the registered union members. From my experience there are a wide variety of longshore types. Some are irritating and out of touch with reality. But most of the longshoreman I know come from all types of blue and white collar backgrounds, understand real life, and appreciate the opportunity and history behind the union and benefits therein. There is rhetoric on both sides, but trust me, this strong union is one of the last checks and balances for the power and influence of corporations in our society and politics. Almost every longshoreman forst has to be a casual worker for 5 to 7 years before they become a full time registered union member with health-care and pension. This is perhaps the greatest imagineable blue-collar job left in America, but nothing is easy and free. It could be a decade of finding baby-sitters (maybe-sitters) and juggling jobs before my group of casual longshoremen/women see the fruits of the ILWU.

  • Thomas M. February 6, 2015 (9:10 pm)

    147K???? Shut it down.

  • machinist1 February 7, 2015 (6:07 am)

    The PMA when talking about the ILWU likes to supply info only about the highest skilled and most senior members of their union. This way when they try to get the public upset (like now) they present the highest possible values and let the public assume that all 20,000 longshoremen make an average of 147,000 a year and have benefits.

    The easiest way to think of the workers is A,B,C

    A = the highest skilled, highest seniority. These workers are the only ones used by the PMA to get the misleading 147,000 average wage. The PMA likes to say full time worker when making statements so the public assumes a 40hr work week. These workers work a lot more then 40 hrs a week and they can choose to work weekends, nights or 3rd shift. In other words a standard 40 hr work week does not apply to this industry. They literally choose their schedule if there is work available. Min 10-15 years to get to this stage

    B = limited union members with benefits. B workers get jobs after the A. These workers are part of the 20,000 but are not figured into the PMA’s average wage bc they would drag the average down severely. Min 5-10+ years to get to this stage

    C = They get jobs IF A,B don’t take all of them. C or Casuals are not union members and receive no benefits regardless if they work enough hours to be considered full time in the real world (Quite the deal for the PMA you will never hear about). They do not get benefits until they move up to B. These workers are also part of the 20,000 but they are not figured into the 147,000 average bc they would drag the average down even more severely than the B workers.5-10+ years to get to B

    The PMA puts out annual reports, 2014 is not out yet. If you choose to access the report ( PMA 2013 ANNUAL REPORT) you must search past the first pages or you will just read what they want you to.

    There are members of other unions at the ports if your wondering.

  • james February 12, 2015 (2:47 pm)

    Why does everyone put these incredible numbers on pension and health care benefits. 88k for pension per year and 35k in medical?

    I think I’ve used about 5k in medical services over the last 20 years. I don’t start collecting any pension benefits for another 20 to 25 years. So why are those numbers thrown out there as if it is money that I’m receiving on top of my pay every year.

    As far as I know pma contributes 2k a year to my retirement in my 4th that’s it……I don’t know where u people get this 88k a year bs.
    And if the 20% difference in my Healthcare plan compared to most other 80/20% plans is equal to 35k a year. Shouldn’t that be a reprimand on Healthcare cost in this country, not a condemnation of my Healthcare policy.

    I keep reading as a.clerk I make 200k a year for 2000hours worked. So, but that is just bull crap. I make 42$ a hour straight time and 56$ overtime rate. Take those numbers and multiply them by 2000 hours. Go ahead, I can’t make them equal 200k a year. Maybe if u start making up imaginary numbers that my pension that I don’t collect for 20 more years or my medical insurance that I barely use, some how are equal to 80 to 100k per year. Then u add that to the 80k to 85k a year that that I normally make.

    I tired of hearing about this so called 120k worth of benefits I supposedly earn. When u figure out your yearly pay, do you put money figures to your medical plan and add that to your yearly pay? Didn’t think so…..

  • Concerned February 17, 2015 (12:27 pm)

    So, if I read your statement correctly as a clerk you make $84,000.00 a year, with full benefits. For most Americans they would say you won the lottery. I apologize ahead of time if I misread your statement but if the above is true you are in a small, very well paid minority.

Sorry, comment time is over.