US port operators ask regulator to force dock workers to negotiate

NEW YORK – Days before a possible strike by longshoremen on the East and Gulf coasts, port employers said they were asking a federal labour regulator to force the dock workers’ union to resume negotiating a new contract.

The US Maritime Alliance, which is made up of port terminal operators, said on Sept 26 it had filed an “unfair labour practice” complaint at the National Labour Relations Board after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) repeatedly refused to negotiate. It said it wanted the labour board to rule that the union must negotiate with the employers.

In a statement on Sept 26, Mr Jim McNamara, an ILA spokesman, called the charge a “publicity stunt” that illustrated that the port employers were “poor negotiating partners”.

A week ago, the union said the two sides had “communicated multiple times in recent weeks” and it contended that a stalemate existed because the Maritime Alliance was offering “an unacceptable wage increase”.

A strike could begin on Oct 1, after the current labour contract expires on Sept 30. The ILA broke off talks in June, contending that it had discovered an employer was using labour-saving technology at the port in Mobile, Alabama, which it claimed was unauthorised under the current contract.

A strike would close nearly all activity at ports from Maine to Texas, including at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the third busiest in the country.

Analysts say even a short walkout could deal a blow to the economy. Fearing a strike, importers have been bringing in goods before next week and diverting some shipments to West Coast ports.

Officials in the Biden administration have said President Joe Biden is not planning to force dock workers back to work, which the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act authorises him to do. But economists said he might well end up invoking the Act if a strike dragged on.

Under the expiring contract, longshoremen earn US$39 (S$50) an hour. A person familiar with the negotiations said the union was asking for a US$5-an-hour raise in each year of the new contract, which would last for six years. The person said employers were offering annual raises of US$2.50 an hour.

The Maritime Alliance said on Sept 23 it had been contacted by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a government agency that helps management and unions negotiate labour contracts.

Federal labour law says it is unlawful for a labour organisation to refuse to negotiate on behalf of its members. NYTIMES