Oakland port dispute: dockworkers ordered back to work by arbitrator agreed to by International ILWU

Oakland port dispute: dockworkers ordered back to work by arbitrator agreed to by International ILWU
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By Michael Cabanatuan Updated 5:12 pm, Sunday, February 22, 2015

Containers from cargo ships are seen stacked under cranes in the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif. Saturday, February 21, 2015. The Port of Oakland recently reached a deal with longshoremen after labor disputes have created a backup of ships with cargo at the port.
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Trucks line up to enter the Port of Oakland, which was caught in the middle of the conflict<137>, Feb. 20, 2015<137>. “It’s time for all sides to pull together and get cargo moving,” the port’s executive director says.<137>The port resumed operations one day after a shutdown because of an all-day meeting by union workers Thursday. Both sides in the labor dispute returned to the negotiation table Friday.<137>

Dockworkers were ordered to return to work at the Port of Oakland on Sunday night after a dispute over relief breaks caused a daytime disruption on what was to have been the first full day of port operations since a tentative agreement on a contract was reached.
Melvin Mackay, president of International Longshore Workers Union Local10, said the night shift would report for work as scheduled after the day shift halted work in a dispute over breaks. The disruption comes as dockworkers struggle to handle a backload of cargo that stacked up as negotiations dragged on. Crews worked the night shift on Saturday and reported for the day shift on Sunday before halting work in the disagreement over breaks.

“We have to get back into the swing of things,” he said. “You don’t make it up all at once.”
The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping companies, did not respond to requests for comment but issued a statement saying an arbitrator had ruled the Sunday work disruption illegal and ordered the dockworkers to resume work.
“The Pacific Maritime Association will continue to address any future work stoppages by Local 10 through the grievance and arbitration process, and, if necessary, in court,” the association said in a prepared statement.
Sunday’s dispute affected only Oakland, not the other 28 West Coast ports covered by a tentative five-year labor agreement reached between the union and the association on Friday. That agreement was reached after President Obama pressured the two sides to settle the dispute, which caused backups on docks and ships from Seattle to San Diego.
At the Port of Oakland, spokesman Mike Zampa said the port, which leases land to the shipping companies and is not directly involved in negotiations, was distressed by the ongoing tensions.
“The Port of Oakland is bitterly disappointed,” he said. “Cargo movement has slowed for months, our customers have suffered significant reversals because of this, and now being, they’re being forced to take another hit. It’s just not right.”
Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan