Hearst Owned SF Chronicle Supports PMA Bosses War Against ILWU West Coast Longshoreman

Hearst Owned SF Chronicle Supports PMA Bosses War Against ILWU West Coast Longshoreman
http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Labor-impasse-thre...
Labor impasse threatens West Coast ports
San Francisco ChronicleFebruary 10, 2015Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty ImagesOAKLAND, CA - FEBRUARY 06: A Maersk Line container ship sits idle in the San Francisco Bay just outside of the Port of Oakland on February 6, 2015 in Oakland, California. Pacific Maritime Association announced today that terminal operators at 29 West Coast ports will be shutting down cargo operations amidst long labor negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A labor impasse at West Coast ports has entered the danger phase, slowing trade and leading to predictions of daily losses of $2 billion if a full-fledged strike occurs. Both dockworkers and employers need to get serious in settling differences that can damage the nation’s economy.

More than half of all U.S. maritime trade flows through 29 ports dominated by container terminals in Southern California, Washington and Oakland. Some 20,000 employees drive trucks, operate cranes and track shipments at these economic choke points.

Since July, the dominant longshore union has worked without a contract. But as talks narrow, the work isn’t getting done. Employers halted unloading last weekend and then restarted shoreside work following months when workers effectively slowed activities, citing safety and other concerns.

This jousting is leading nowhere. It’s obliging shippers to consider costly airfreight and may lead to canceled contracts as retail buyers and manufacturers give up on moving their goods.

A federal mediator is at work with off-and-on talks due to restart on Wednesday. This slow pace is why California’s senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, issued a blunt letter to both sides. The two Democrats noted that 17 ships are anchored off Oakland waiting to unload and another 22 are waiting at the Los Angeles and Long Beach complex. Meanwhile the state’s citrus and rice producers are prepping for prime-time exports but with little hope of prompt deliveries. “These are terrible circumstances,” the two senators said.

One central issue should prompt public interest: the sky-high wages that longshore union members now get and will likely exceed in a new contract. Last week, the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers, said the average union member earns $147,000 per year. Their offer would add 14 percent over five years and continue an employer-paid health plan. A typical pension would be $88,900 per year, the employer group said.

Labor officials have declined to detail their demands. Job security, safety and new tasks in an era of ever-larger ships are prime concerns, a union official said.

Stark as these differences sound, they must be worked out. Neither the West Coast nor the rest of the nation wants a walkout.