The bigger picture
US labour issues have once again stolen the headlines on the West Coast
US labour issues have once again stolen the headlines on the West Coast, with a timing bordering on perfection.
As AAPA delegates were packing their bags for the convention, union workers were making their case known with reports of violent demonstrations and arrests almost in double figures as this issue went to press. Windows were broken, train brake lines were cut, and security guards were held hostage, according to police reports.
ILWU workers have been sidelined for the more passive Union of Operating Engineers, a move that is being hotly contested as a breach of contract by the ILWU.
The battle has the potential to be historic. If the operator wins, its Longview Export Grain Terminal would be the first grain terminal in the Pacific Northwest to use non-ILWU labour. There’s no need to spell out the precedent that would set for a heavily-unionised national port labour force.
But there is more at stake here than the use of non-union – or in this case different union – labour. Dock workers, pumped up by the threat of losing their jobs are actually driving the nail into their own employment coffins with non-peaceful protest.
There are plenty of ports for carriers to choose from to make their calls on the West Coast, and not even necessarily in the US; Canada can hold its own in steering calls away from strike-bound US ports. A widened Panama Canal could further shake things up. It’s the bigger picture that needs to be considered.
In the free world, port workers have the right to fair pay and good working conditions – as do workers in any sector. However, in the depressed world, the fundamental right to a job has disappeared. No one’s job is safe, not man on the dock or the man at the top – as the Port of Virginia’s ousted board members will duly attest to.
Dock labour needs to keep the prospects of their port at the forefront of their minds before turning to protests that paint that same port in a bad light to the outside world.
It doesn’t take much to damage a reputation and with economic indicators pointing to another slowdown in 2012, there will be less cargo business to go round. One thing’s for certain, when selecting a port for that reduced business, carriers will certainly place docker unrest high on their list of cons.
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