![Labor issues causing some West Coast shipping ports to close](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107250369-16857322391685732237-29720448092-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1685733944&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
Ports on the West Coast are closing as union employees “don’t show up” after negotiations with the Port Authority broke down.
The Port of Oakland closed Friday morning as a result of insufficient manpower to operate the terminal. The downtime is predicted to last a minimum of until Saturday. A source near the situation told CNBC that port closures are expected to spread to the West Coast in consequence of a shortage of manpower as employees protest wage negotiations in contract talks with the Port Authority.
The Port of Oakland’s two marine terminals – SSA, its largest and TraPac – have been closed since Friday’s morning shift, said Robert Bernardo, a spokesman for the Port of Oakland. He said most imports and exports are processed through these terminals.
While the actions taken by employees will not be a proper strike, a source told CNBC that he expects shutdowns at other West Coast ports as union employees refuse to report back to jobs, and operations are reportedly stopping on the Port of Los Angeles as well, including Fenix Marine, APL terminal and port of Hueneme, which processes cars and perishable bananas – the most important import on this category. The situation stays fluid, with truckers being turned back on the Los Angeles facilities.
In a press release from ILWM, International President Willie Adams said the talks “haven’t broken down” and added “we will not be going to accept an economic package that doesn’t recognize the heroic efforts and private sacrifices of ILWM’s workforce that has lifted the shipping industry to record profits.” .
The shutdown comes as activity at West Coast ports picks up again after losing volume to East Coast ports as a result of concerns about job volatility.
On the Port of Oakland, total container volume rose for 2 consecutive months, and port officials were optimistic concerning the growth. It’s the eighth largest port within the country, importing a wide selection of products, from Australian wine and meat to aluminum from South Korea, and clothing, electronics and furniture from china.
“Given the expansion in business over the previous couple of months, we’re optimistic for a greater second half of 2023 by way of the quantity of cargo passing through Oakland,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. “We also anticipate a rise within the variety of ocean carrier services offered on the Port of Oakland in the approaching months.”
“Oakland is a significant port for U.S. agricultural exporters,” said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agricultural Transportation Coalition (AgTC). “Fridays are an enormous day for agricultural exports.”
Webcams showing no truck traffic on the Port of Oakland, where an absence of employees shut down terminal operations
Ports and unions have been involved in contract negotiations over the past 12 months, adding to tensions in port operations.
On April 20, the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the ports, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced that they’d reached a tentative agreement on some key issues, though they didn’t disclose more.
People aware of the negotiation process told CNBC on the time that it represented “major progress.” Earlier contracts included the upkeep of health services. But known issues that also needed to be worked out included payroll, in addition to security, automation, and retirement advantages.
PMA, which represents port management, in statement on Twitter he called Friday’s events “coordinated and disruptive work activities” of ILWU.
MZDM issued a press release on Friday saying that rank-and-file employees had undertaken to “express their dissatisfaction” in the continuing “tedious fight” with the port authority. ILWU said port cargo employees “remain at work,” but a port source told CNBC that the general variety of employees is insufficient for port operations to proceed. The ILWU statement didn’t specifically list wages, but cited “basic demands” including health and safety and the $500 billion in profits made by ocean carriers and terminal operators over the past two years.
Essentially the most recent shutdown on the Port of Oakland was in early November, when lots of of officials left their jobs over a pay dispute.
Each port closure creates back-ups that affect each pick-up and pick-up of products by truckers.
Truckers also had a hiatus related to California’s AB 5 laws to categorise truckers as employees, an outage that lasted five days but took two months to clear. MZDM didn’t cross this picket line.
On the Port of Oakland, greater than 2,100 trucks go through the terminals day-after-day, but none are expected until Saturday with insufficient manpower to handle the trucks.