For a fourth day, dockworkers at West Coast ports in the United States are disrupting international trade, according to the Pacific Maritime Association.
Two of the six marine terminals at the Port of Long Beach remained closed during the day shift Monday, as “operators of those terminals made the decision to close based on operational needs, and will reopen for the evening shift,” the port said in a statement.
The association (PMA) and International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union represents the dockworkers who have been negotiating a new contract since May 10, 2022. The union, which represents 22,000 workers at 29 US West Coast ports, said on Friday that they remained committed to negotiating a good agreement for their workers as talks continued. The union did not address the work disruptions.
The PMA says union leaders have been implementing disruption tactics since Friday — slowing operations at West Coast ports and forcing the ports to close shipping terminals.
“Over the weekend and continuing today, the ILWU has continued to stage concerted and disruptive work actions that have slowed operations at key marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and elsewhere on the West Coast, including the Ports of Oakland and Seattle,” the PMA said in a statement Monday.
The Port of Los Angeles said one terminal, Fenix Marine, closed its gates during the lunch hour for the day on Monday, but a spokesperson could not provide details on why.
The Port of Oakland reported earlier this morning that all terminals were open and operational. The terminal operators at the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma did not return CNN’s requests for comments.
The West Coast ports, which once handled the bulk of US trade — especially during the pandemic, have relinquished some volume to the Gulf and East Coast Ports. Shippers started to worry about whether the West Coast ports could handle high volume cargo given the mess that ensued off the coast of California during the pandemic as ships and US goods were stuck at sea for weeks on end. The West Coast ports have said they are capable and open for business.
“The ILWU’s coast-wide work actions since June 2 are forcing retailers, manufacturers and other shippers to ship cargo away from the West Coast in favor of ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Much of the diverted cargo may never return to the West Coast,” the PMA said.
Amid news of disruptions, the National Retail Administration is calling on the Biden administration to intervene in negotiations to resolve the labor dispute ahead of the summer, heading into the peak holiday shipping season.