90-Day Contract Extension Will Keep Ports Operating

This story appears in the Sept. 24 print edition of Transport Topics.

Management and labor negotiators in the East Coast and Gulf Coast contract talks have agreed to a 90-day extension of the pact that was due to expire on Sept. 30, ensuring there will not be a work stoppage during the peak holiday shipping season.

The announcement from George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, came after the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance agreed on Sept. 6 to return to the bargaining table with FMCS as mediator.

“I am pleased to announce that at the close of today’s productive negotiation session, in which progress was made on several important subjects, the parties have agreed to extend the collective bargaining agreement,” Cohen said in a statement.

Talks broke down on Aug. 22. Remaining key issues include automation, wider use of technology and job preservation.

“This extension will provide the parties an opportunity to focus on the outstanding core issues in a deliberate manner apart from the pressure of an immediate deadline,” Cohen said.

The National Retail Federation and the National Industrial Transportation League were among the groups that welcomed the announcement about the contract extension.

“This is a significant step forward, and signals that both sides — labor and management — are serious about reaching a deal,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation. “This extension should provide for a stable holiday shipping and shopping season over the next few months.”

“The League was pleased to learn that the two sides in the negotiations on a new port agreement will move forward in a continuing effort to reach mutual acceptable terms on a new contract,” said NITL’s executive vice president, Peter Gatti.

He said a stable supply chain would help ensure economic well-being for shippers.

Curtis Whalen, executive director of the Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference, also was “pleased” with the announcement, saying that “cooler heads” prevailed, allowing member carriers who do port drayage to keep working.

Whalen said t hat outcome was highly preferable to the use of federal law known as the Taft-Hartley Act, which forces people to return to work after a stoppage occurs. President George W. Bush had to take that course to end the 10-day West Coast work stoppage.

The contract extension was a positive step, Whalen said, “particularly considering that we are in the last stages of a presidential election.”

Cohen’s statement said that FMCS will continue to be involved in the talks, and that there would be no more comment on the schedule, location or substance of the talks while they are in progress.

In the days before the extension announcement, the Toy Industry Association and the Agriculture Transportation Coalition were among the groups urging both sides to keep cargo flowing through ports from Maine to Texas. Those ports handle about one-third of U.S. international container freight.

A Sept. 19 report from Deutsche Bank estimated that a disruption similar to the 10-day West Coast port work stoppage could cost the U.S. economy $19 billion and reduce the already weak gross domestic product growth by 0.8%.