Tentative Agreement Reached To End Port-Impacting Strike

An announcement (see banner on screen save from ILWU Local 63 website) says the agreement was announced at about 10:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

The impasse was broken after L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa extracted an agreement from ILWU yesterday morning (Dec. 4) to federal mediation which the employers had been seeking for several days).

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com (below), Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster told KNX/1070 Newsradio at midafternoon Tuesday (Dec. 4) that he had received word that the two sides might try to hammer out an agreement before the federal mediator(s) arrived...which was apparently accurate. LATimes.com reports that union negotiators were voting behind closed doors when federal mediators arrived to join Mayor Villaraigosa at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

The two Ports themselves, while impacted, weren't parties to the labor action which involved ILWU Local 63 Clerical Workers Unit and Harbor Employers Ass'n.

Mayor Foster noted that a federal mediator will have to come from Washington, D.C...and while noting that the current situation is unclear, he indicated that the two sides may try to reach an agreement on their own.

The news comes after L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met overnight with both sides and emerged this morning without a resolution...but with an announcement that two sides had agreed to federal mediation. The mediation comes without an agreement by ILWU to halt the labor action in which ILWU dockworkers are honoring the picket link by ILWU clerical workers, effectively halting operations at 10 of 14 terminals at the LA/Long Beach ports.

Mayor Foster told KNX/1070 Newsradio's Business Hour that he hopes both sides will be able to reach an agreement without delay because the situation grows worse with time...with economic effects that will be felt not just locally but nationally.

Mayor Foster said that from his City Hall office he can see the container ships stopped outside the Port...and as time goes on, deliveries of various consumer goods will be delayed. He added that he hopes discretionary cargo won't be diverted elsewhere, particularly in view of efforts by both Ports to ensure it remains here.

Asked if he believes the White House should become involved, Mayor Foster said he hopes the two sides can reach an agreement on their own, but if the situation persists he believes the White House would have to get involved.

As reported by LBREPORT.com earlier today (details below), a lengthy list of manufacturers, farmers, wholesalers, retailers, transportation and logistics intersests urged President Barack Obama "to quickly engage in the dispute" and urged use of "whatever means necessary, including Taft-Hartley, to get labor back to work in the nation’s largest ports."

The latter statement calls on the President to invoke a 1947 federal law [detested by unions] that authorizes the President to intervene in strikes that create a national emergency. President George W. Bush invoked the law in connection with the employer lockout of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union during negotiations with West Coast shipping and stevedoring companies in 2001.

There's no immediate reaction from ILWU Local 63, whose clerical workers went out on strike, and ILWU dock workers have honored their picket lines, stopping operations at 10 of 14 terminals at the Ports of L.A. and LB. [The Ports themselves aren't parties to the dispute; the Harbor Employers Association is.]

Asked about the situation yesterday (Dec 3) [after the National Retail Federation asked on Nov. 29 for President Obama to "engage" in the labor dispute] White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration and the President are continuing to "monitor" the situation and "urge the parties to continue their work at the negotiating table to get a deal done as quickly as possible."

The Dec. 4 letter to the President recites "dire consequences" it says will result if the situation "isn't quickly remedied" including [letter text]

• Manufacturers requiring parts for their production lines may have to suspend operations;
• Exporters will fail to meet delivery times for their customers in the Far East;
• Exporters of perishable cargos have already been affected;
• Agricultural interests will have to divert production to domestic use, or freeze produce instead of shipping it fresh, thereby losing significant economic value;
• Retailers will be unable to get goods to their store shelves in a timely fashion; and,
• Importers, wholesalers, and U.S. consumer brands will face order cancellations if they cannot meet delivery dates.

Below is the letter text and signatories to President Obama today.

December 4, 2012 The President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: The undersigned associations representing United States manufacturers, farmers, wholesalers, retailers, and transportation and logistics providers are writing to express our deep concern about the labor situation in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. We urge the Administration to quickly engage in the dispute to end the work stoppage at the ports and help the parties in their negotiations. On November 27, 2012, the Marine Clerk Office Clerical Unit Local 63 (OCU), a unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) representing approximately 600 workers, broke off contract negotiations with fourteen marine terminal employers in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. The OCU set up picket lines at 10 of the 14 terminals operating at the two ports. Other ILWU units not party to the negotiations have refused to cross these pickets, effectively shutting down the nation’s largest port complex. In the past six days, ocean carriers have begun to divert cargo to Mexico and Canada because there is great concern that diverting cargo to other U.S. ports would only widen the labor actions. Meanwhile, ships are beginning to back up in the harbor and port terminal operators are running out of room to store empty containers and other intermodal equipment. Even if labor returned to work today, it would take several weeks to undo the gridlock this disruption has already set in motion. If this situation is not quickly remedied, far more dire consequences will result, including: • Manufacturers requiring parts for their production lines may have to suspend operations; • Exporters will fail to meet delivery times for their customers in the Far East; • Exporters of perishable cargos have already been affected; • Agricultural interests will have to divert production to domestic use, or freeze produce instead of shipping it fresh, thereby losing significant economic value; • Retailers will be unable to get goods to their store shelves in a timely fashion; and, • Importers, wholesalers, and U.S. consumer brands will face order cancellations if they cannot meet delivery dates. While this labor dispute has affected fewer ports than the coast-wide lockout of 2002, the Los Angeles and Long Beach port facilities are the nation’s busiest and critical for many exporters and importers doing business in the Pacific Rim. The 2002 labor dispute, which lasted for 10 days, cost the US economy $1 billion a day. We recognize the difficulties of government intervention in labor disputes. However, this dispute has already harmed many economic interests across the country, as evidenced by the organizations listed below. We urge you to take immediate action and use whatever means necessary, including Taft-Hartley, to get labor back to work in the nation’s largest ports. Sincerely, Agriculture Transportation Coalition - AgTC Airforwarders Association Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers Amcot American Apparel & Footwear Association American Association of Railroads American Automotive Policy Council American Bakers Association American Chemistry Council American Cotton Shippers Association American Farm Bureau Federation American Home Furnishings Alliance American Import Shippers Association, Inc. American Meat Institute American Trucking Associations Arizona Retailers Association Association of Food Industries Association of Global Automakers BizFed, Los Angeles County Business Federation California Business Properties Association California Retailers Association California Trucking Association Cheese Importers Association of America Coalition of New England Companies for Trade - CONECT Columbia River Customs Brokers and Forwarders Assn. Connecticut Retail Merchants Association Custom Brokers & Forwarders Assn. of Northern California Custom Brokers & International Freight Forwarders Assn. of Washington State Express Association of America (EAA) Fashion Accessories Shippers Association (FASA) Food Marketing Institute Harbor Association of Industry & Commerce Harbor Truckers Association High Point Market Authority Indiana Retail Council Inland Action Intermodal Association of North America Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference International Franchise Association International Wood Products Association Louisiana Retailers Association Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association Michigan Retailers Association Midwest Shippers Association Missouri Retailers Association Montana Retail Association Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association NAIOP Inland Empire NAIOP SoCal NAIOP Southern Nevada NASSTRAC, Inc. National Association of Manufacturers National Cattlemen’s Beef Association National Cotton Council National Council of Farmer Cooperatives National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America National Grain and Feed Association National Oilseed Processors Association National Potato Council National Retail Federation National Turkey Federation New Jersey Retail Merchants Association North American Export Grain Association North Carolina Retail Merchants Association Orange County Business Council Oregon Seed Association Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Pacific Northwest Asia Shippers Association Pennsylvania Retailers' Association Propeller Club of Los Angeles-Long Beach Retail Association of Maine Retail Association of Nevada Retail Industry Leaders Association Retail Merchants of Hawaii Retailers Association of Massachusetts San Diego District Customs Brokers Assn. San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership South Carolina Retail Association Southern California Shipper's Association Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) State Chamber of Oklahoma Texas Retailers Association The Fertilizer Institute The National Industrial Transportation League The Health & Personal Care Logistics Conference, Inc. The Waterfront Coalition Toy Industry Association Transportation Intermediaries Association Travel Goods Association (TGA) USA Poultry and Egg Export Council U S Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Hide, Skin and Leather Association U.S. Shippers Association Utah Retail Merchants Association West Virginia Retailers Association Wine and Spirits Shippers Association CC: Members of Congress Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Department of Commerce Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank California Governor Jerry Brown Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Long Beach Mayor Robert "Bob" Foster