Judge rules South Carolina Ports can continue using nonunion labor

A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Thursday that the International Longshoremen’s Association cannot force the use of union labor at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina and ordered it to drop 

a lawsuit filed against two ocean carriers that utilized the 2021-opened Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal.

Administrative Law Judge Andrew S. Gollin wrote in the decision that the “ILA’s object for its lawsuit against USMX and its carrier members was work acquisition, not work preservation,” in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/judge-rules-south-carolina-ports-can-continue-using-nonunion-labor

ILA president: “We won’t work autonomous box ships”

The president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, Harold J. Daggett, says he has a message to any shipping companies planning to utilize autonomous containerships without crew: “Don’t sail them into ILA ports from Maine To Texas, Puerto Rico, and Eastern Canada – they won’t be unloaded or loaded by ILA Members!”

“Workers around the world are under assault from the threat of automation by greedy companies only interested in making money and eliminating workers who helped them build...

https://www.marinelog.com/ports-terminals/ila-president-we-wont-work-autonomous-box-ships/

Seroka honored for ‘unwavering leadership throughout the pandemic’

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka has been named the recipient of the Containerization & Intermodal Institute’s (CII) 2021 Connie Award.

“As the head of the nation’s largest port, Gene showed unwavering leadership throughout the pandemic by consistently rising to the occasion with innovative solutions to ever-changing challenges,” CII President Steve Blust said. 

During the height of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti named Seroka the city’s first chief...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/seroka-honored-for-unwavering-leadership-throughout-the-pandemic

Port of Charleston cargo volume up nearly 28% year-over-year

South Carolina Ports reported a record April for cargo handled at the Port of Charleston.

The South Carolina Ports Authority said it moved 225,137 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across the Wando Welch, North Charleston and Hugh K. Leatherman terminals, a 27.8% year-over-year increase. 

The SCPA said loaded imports were up 27% year-over-year in April, from 82,899 TEUs to 105,045 TEUs, and loaded exports were up nearly 30%, from 56,611 TEUs to 73,337 TEUs. Empty import containers were down...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/port-of-charleston-cargo-volume-up-nearly-28-year-over-year

ILA lawsuit throttles South Carolina container terminal traffic

It is unclear whether ocean carriers will avoid a newly opened container terminal in South Carolina until a labor dispute is cleared up. But at least for now, it appears most shipping lines are steering clear of the Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal to avoid being caught up in a lawsuit filed by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA).

Over the next 15 days, only two container ships are slated to be handled at the Leatherman Terminal. Forty vessels are scheduled to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ila-lawsuit-throttles-south-carolina-container-terminal-traffic

ILA sues for $200M over nonunion labor in South Carolina

On April 9, a Hapag-Lloyd container ship became the first cargo vessel to berth at the new Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston, South Carolina. It was cause for celebration for the South Carolina Ports Authority. 

Then it got Hapag-Lloyd named in a lawsuit.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is seeking $200 million in damages in a lawsuit filed last week against Hapag-Lloyd and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) for the use of nonunion workers to handle cargo...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ila-sues-for-200m-over-nonunion-labor-in-south-carolina

Teamsters protest in SoCal gets burst of support from longshoremen

What had been deemed a strike in Southern California by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — but was undertaken by people who were not employed — does appear to have disrupted some port operations in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port area Wednesday, albeit briefly.

Just how much of a disruption is a point of some contention. What is clear is that a protest by workers fired from divisions of Universal Logistics (NASDAQ: ULH)  late last year, soon after some of them had voted to unionize,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/teamsters-protest-in-socal-gets-burst-of-support-from-longshoremen

FMC wants Covid-hit US dockworkers deemed ‘essential’ and vaccinated quickly

Federal Maritime Commissioners Carl Bentzel (pictured above) and Daniel Maffei have written to US president Joe Biden urging his new administration to classify the country’s dockers and maritime workforce as essential workers, and expedite a vaccination programme across the workforce.
Coronavirus cases among UK dockworkers have soared in recent weeks. The letter was delivered as it was revealed that nearly 2,000 US dockworkers have tested positive for Covid-19.
The International Longshoreman’s...

https://theloadstar.com/fmc-wants-covid-hit-us-dockworkers-deemed-essential-and-vaccinated-quickly/

South Carolina Ports defends hybrid labor model

An unfair labor practice charge has been filed before any containers have been moved at the South Carolina Ports Authority’s new Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal.

At issue is a contract clause that basically says all work at a proposed terminal should be done by International Longshoremen’s Association workers. The SCPA argues the soon-to-open Leatherman Terminal at the Port of Charleston was laid out years before the clause was added to the contract.

Wednesday’s filing with the National Labor...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/south-carolina-ports-defends-hybrid-labor-model

Another Montreal union joins indefinite industrial action

Following the announcement on Friday, 7 August, by Montreal’s International Longshoremen’s Union Local 375 (CUPE) of an indefinite strike, it has emerged that a sister union, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1657 (Checkers) has also given notice of strike action starting today, 10 August at 3pm local time.

As the long-running dispute reaches its critical phase unions have apparently lost patience with the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) and have called for all out,...

https://container-news.com/another-montreal-union-joins-indefinite-industrial-action/