Port Needs Weekend Working at Container Depots to Speed Freight Handling


West Coast Needs Faster Cargo Turnaround After Dispute 

US – It seems the recently resolved dock labour problems which once again crippled US ports on the West Coast may have engendered some action in an attempt to restore confidence. Las week the Port of Oakland sent an open letter from Executive Director Chris Lytle to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) following a request from the port’s terminal operators to enable them to work on Saturdays, loading import and export containers to and from trucks and adding a sixth day to the working week to allow freer movement of freight.
The Port boss said opening terminal gates on Saturdays could ease congestion and improve efficiency in Oakland adding however two caveats, namely that the shortage of labour which has already slowed cargo operations be resolved, and that the fee necessary to fund Saturday operations must be reasonable and used exclusively for those operations.
The FMC is currently reviewing the request lodged by the container terminals at a port which already opens its gates at weekends but generally only to allow admittance for vessel operations, rarely for other activities. The new arrangement would open terminals every Saturday for full operations, including gate entry. That would enable harbour truckers to pick-up containerised imports for delivery, drop-off exports or return empties. Mr. Lytle commented:
“The Port strongly supports additional gate hours. There are, however, several points for the Commission to consider.”
Although some West Coast ports are already more flexible than Oakland many of the larger terminal operators, APM Terminals in Los Angeles for example, are closed for the whole weekend. Although the Port of Oakland doesn’t operate marine terminals it publicly supports Saturday working as part of a broader plan it has developed to speed up cargo delivery, with offsite locations to collect empty containers and a common pool of container chassis for harbour truckers.

The elephant in the room is of course the labour situation, a shortage of staff seriously reduced productivity throughout the summer, slowing the post dispute recovery, and the port is first to state that more dockworkers are needed to ensure Saturday operations can be successful.



Lowest paid ILWU dockers earn more than lawyers, FBI agents and doctors

THE International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) contends the data published in the annual reports of the employers' Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) on dockers' wages is overstated.

Lowest paid ILWU dockers earn more than lawyers, FBI agents and doctors
THE International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) contends the data published in the annual reports of the employers' Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) on dockers' wages is overstated.

That's because the PMA cites the wages of the most senior longshoremen, says the ILWU, which won a seven per cent increase for its members to US$146,517 a year when many more lower paid men make only $73,000 a year.

But that's still more than the $64,000 - $67,000 a year earned by degree-holding hospital resident physicians, an assistant district attorneys and FBI agents. 

ILWU clerks who worked at least 2,000 hours earned on average $165,202, also seven per cent more than in 2013, notes Newark's Journal of Commerce. That was also the highest jump in earnings over the past decade. 

Walking bosses earned an average of $230,003 for 2,000 or more hours of work. That was an increase of eight per cent over 2013 and their second highest increase of the past decade after their 12 per cent increase in 2010.

ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees said that employers who earn "a million dollars a year and generous benefits are hardly in a position to lecture dockworkers about good-paying jobs".

The PMA conceded that the straight wages is confusing and addressed the issue by answering the question, "How does $36.68 an hour add up to nearly $156,000 a year".

The report stated that the hourly wages of many longshoremen include the base wage, plus "multipliers" such as skill bonuses, overtime and weekend work, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.

"In fact, 90 per cent of all hours paid to registered workers in 2014 were subject to multipliers that enhance earnings significantly," the PMA said.

Eighty per cent of all work includes skill bonuses ranging from $2.40 to $5.80 an hour. Evening and night work, which accounts for 39 per cent of all hours paid, commands a rate of $49 to $68 an hour. 

Overtime work, including weekends and holidays, pays $55 to $77 an hour and accounts for 34 per cent of all hours paid. In short, "the effective average rate for all hours paid is more than $50 an hour, the PMA annual report stated.

Furthermore, some job classifications guarantee 50 hours of pay each week for 40 hours of work. Marine clerks, steady foremen and steady crane drivers are guaranteed 50 hours of pay when they work 40 hours.

About 30 per cent of dockers were paid 2,600 or more hours in 2014. The PMA also noted that registered longshoremen are also paid an average of $6,000 a year in vacation time and have 13 paid holidays.


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