Ocean cargo: ILWU shuts down West Coast ports in war protest

Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 5/1/2008

SAN FRANCISCO—The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) made good on its threat to stage a virtual strike on May Day, effectively shutting down all U.S. and Canadian West Coast ports. The one-day “work-stoppage,” said ILWU officials, is to protest the war in Iraq and comes at a time when the union is in the middle of contract talks with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).

“We are very disappointed and angry about the event,” PMA spokesman, Steve Getzug, told LM today. “It comes after repeated assurances that only a few dockworkers would participate, and that the union would not encourage a mass walk out.”

Despite such promises, said Getzug, there is substantial evidence that union leadership mandated the action. Meanwhile, he said, the PMA would proceed “in good faith” to get a new six-year contract signed with the union before its July 1 deadline expires.

For shippers, however, the event may signal that more trouble lies ahead.

“Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America,” said ILWU president Bob McEllrath. “We’re supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq.”

According to McEllrath, the union notified the PMA, “but it refused to accommodate the union’s request.”

The ILWU represents 25,000 dockworkers on the Pacific coast and has staged political protests similar to this one for much of its storied history. The transport disruption, this time though, is happening when many shippers have already decided to source goods using an “all-water” route via the Suez Canal, and call U.S. East Coast ports instead.

Industry analysts have suggested that the unreliable and unstable labor force here may influence the long-term shipping and sourcing strategies of U.S. manufacturers and growers.

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