Nick Souza for Port of Long Beach
At least one terminal at the Port of Long Beach will be shut on June 5, seeming to extend disruptions that have hit several key West Coast port terminals as dockworkers and their employers hold ongoing labor contract negotiations.
Total Terminals International, or TTI, at the Port of Long Beach has canceled operations the morning of June 5, according to a notice sent to truckers and posted on its website.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents ocean carriers and terminal operators, said that a West Coast dockworkers guild “effectively shut down some terminals across every major container gateway on the U.S. West Coast” on June 2.
The Local 13 chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, a West Coast dockworkers guild, said on June 2 that cargo operations at L.A. and Long Beach ports continue, but that members in Southern California have “taken it upon themselves to voice their displeasure with the ocean carriers’ and terminal operators’ position.”
ILWU Remains Committed to Negotiating a Good Agreement for ILWU Workers as Contract Talks Continue
Pandemic profits at the forefront
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 2, 2023) – The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) represents over 70 multi-national ocean carriers and maritime companies…
— ILWU Coast Longshore Division (@ilwulongshore) June 2, 2023
“Any reports that negotiations have broken down are false,” International President Willie Adams said in a statement. “We are getting there but it’s important to understand that West Coast dockworkers kept the economy going during the pandemic and lost their lives doing so.”
The ILWU, which represents about 22,000 dockworkers on the West Coast, has been negotiating a new labor contract with the PMI since May last year. The previous contract expired on July 1, 2022.
It isn’t clear whether all of the terminals impacted by the June 2 actions will resume operations June 5, though notices posted on several websites indicate plans to open as normal.
Fenix Marine Services at the Port of Los Angeles is set to open June 5, and the Oakland International Container Terminal says truck gates will open at 8 am. TraPac in Los Angeles and Oakland also plan to open truck gates at 7 am.
The Biden administration is facing calls from retailers and importers to intervene in the contract negotiation, which has dragged on for more than a year.
