A look reader asked about a backup on the westbound low bridge. Earlier today, in the 6 am hour, it had mechanical trouble, but that’s not what’s happening right now – there’s a long backup of trucks, as shown on both the west- and east-facing cameras. No ships in at T-5 according to VesselFinder, so that’s not the cause; we’re checking to see if there’s any other unusual circumstance.
UPDATE: The terminal operator is having “network issues,” according to the NW Seaport Alliance.
Worked with a guy that moonlighted on weekends driving containers from the port to the rail terminal. At that time drivers were paid by the load. So, if they’re sitting in a backup, they’re not getting paid.
The Port of Seattle is worried about using all the capacity they have here, and yet their assigned operator cannot manage the limited capacity they have. MSC pushed up the cutoffs for some of their upcoming vessels causing a rush today, and SSA Terminals and the Longshore Union are again failing to be productive. They just can’t move fast enough… overpriced labor that is unproductive. What people need to realize is that the Union control the Port, and so the Port can only operate with the Union labor. There is no incentive structure to be productive, just to bilk more hours and kick up in union dues. It’s like an episode of the Sopranos.
You clearly don’t know or understand the contract at all. They have minimums that more often than not exceed the expected time to complete a task. They ABSOLUTELY have an incentive to work faster. Why spend four hours working to make fours hours’ pay when getting it done in an hour and then going home still gets you four hours’ pay? The labor is priced appropriately not just for the work they do, but for the risk they take on in doing so. Did you miss the article today about the accident on Harbor Island? Dock work is dangerous.
Terminal 30 is closing therefore the cargo and ships that called on that terminal will now be at terminal 5 and 18. Expect more of what you saw today.
Complaints about union workers stem mostly from jealousy that they’re willing to fight for good wages and benefits.
It’s broken again. And the operators are not telling us anything. They have a PA, they could inform us, the kid next to me is getting in trouble with his boss.
This is due to another SSA Terminal, T30, closing operations and shifting all cargo to T5 instead. These traffic problems are going to take awhile to sort out, this is huge jump in volume for T5 to handle.
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