Ocean cargo/global logistics: Matson averts threatened strike
Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 6/29/2009
SAN FRANCISCO—Shippers in the U.S. mainland-Hawaii trade were told that a tentative labor agreement has been reached between ocean carrier Matson Navigation and its offshore unions.
“We had been working faithfully toward this outcome all weekend,” said Matson spokesman, Jeff Hull. “Both sides were talking, and that’s always a good sign.”
Indeed, had an agreement not been reached in post-contract negotiations, thousands of shippers would have been scrambling to find capacity in the Jones Act trade.
Matson’s fixed weekly sailings are comprised of three vessels sailing for Honolulu from Seattle, Oakland and Long Beach, Calif. While the new deal is subject to ratification by the respective union’s members, Matson is telling shippers that there will be no further disruption to its vessel schedules and terminal operations.
Matson’s previous contracts with the Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P), American Radio Association (ARA), and Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (MEBA) expired on June 10, and many shippers were concerned that a strike would cripple operations.
Hawaii’s fragile supply chain is heavily reliant on ocean shipping from the mainland and became a bargaining chip used by the union throughout the negotiations. At issue was wage parity and Matson’s intent to eliminate jobs for radio operators on its vessels.
While this is the first time that MM&P, ARA and MEBA have threatened to strike, Matson faced a similar challenge last year during contract negotiations with the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the Seafarers International Union-Marine Cooks, and the Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Association.
Another area of concern for Matson and its shippers would be if the International Longshore and Warehouse Union had honored picket lines in a gesture of solidarity. Such a move, said labor analysts, would only exacerbate a worsening situation.
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