BUSINESS
September 17, 2011 | By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times
The union representing West Coast dockworkers has formed an alliance with pilots who guide ships through the Panama Canal, a link-up that could boost the bargaining power of both unions. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents workers in the U.S. and Canada, including 50,000 longshore and other workers on the West Coast. The union has been concerned about the potential loss of cargo, jobs and collective bargaining power that could occur when the Panama Canal expansion opens in 2014.
BUSINESS
November 29, 2012 | By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times
A small union of maritime clerks managed to shut down most of the nation's busiest seaport complex Wednesday, raising concerns about harm to the fragile economy. Although late November is a relatively slow time for cargo movement at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a prolonged closure could prove costly for retailers and manufacturers who rely on the ports to get their goods as well as truckers and other businesses that depend on the docks for work. "You are stranding goods at ports that handle 40% of the nation's import trade," said Jock O'Connell, an international trade economist who works as an advisor to Beacon Economics.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 15, 2009 | Louis Sahagun
Ever since the 1930s, when Harry Bridges founded the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the legendary labor leader's name has conjured images of dockworker walkouts and bloody clashes with police on the picket lines in the hardworking port communities of Wilmington and San Pedro.
BUSINESS
November 29, 1999 | Bloomberg News
Ocean shipping companies face a one-day West Coast port shutdown Tuesday as port workers intend to protest this week's World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union plans the action to protest WTO's support of worldwide free trade, the Journal of Commerce first reported last week. A stoppage would halt port activity on the heaviest shipping day of the week in Southern California ports, the nation's busiest.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 10, 2002 | From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The City Council on Friday told the federal government to stay out of the labor contract disputes at the port of Los Angeles and other West Coast harbors. The action came in response to reports that the Bush administration may invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to head off work stoppages. The Pacific Maritime Assn., representing the port operators, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing the dock workers, have been negotiating for a new contract since June.
BUSINESS
October 18, 2002 | Nancy Cleeland
Federal mediators hoping to settle a labor dispute between West Coast dockworkers and their employers are set to tour terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and possibly others, early next week before calling both sides back to the bargaining table. Peter J. Hurtgen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, met Wednesday with negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and Thursday with officials of the Pacific Maritime Assn.