Sept. 24, 2002

Labor shortages, safety problems

continue to plague West Coast ports

            As the peak shipping season reaches its busiest point, ports up and down the West Coast are experiencing regular personnel shortages, especially in the more skilled categories. And the congestion on the docks caused by the record volume of container traffic and the strained port infrastructure is posing severe safety problems for workers.

In Tacoma Friday night, Sept. 20, there were again labor shortages. The problem arose because of the crush of work at the port. Many ILWU Local 23 members had worked Thursday night and “doubled back” for Friday day shift to cover the jobs. But the local’s safety rules require those who double back to take off the next eight-hour shift before going back to work. Similar shortages occurred at other terminals in the Port of Tacoma that evening. Evergreen, one of the larger terminal operators in Tacoma has had a work gang go unfulfilled at least once a week for the past two months because of the overabundance of work at the port.

Several factors, all related to the peak season, are combining to make productivity lag. In Southern California two of the largest shipping companies—Maersk and Hanjin—are moving from their old terminals to new ones, causing further disruptions. Some terminals have had to close their gates early because of truck congestion inside. And most terminals refuse to extend their gate hours beyond the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. day shift.

The huge volume of cargo has required many terminals to move to “grounded operations,” stacking containers four high, instead of the previous “wheeled operation” where containers are kept on chassis for easier movement out to waiting trucks. The grounded operation causes further delays and requires more labor as ILWU workers have to pick through the stacks for the container and the trucker waits around longer, exacerbating the congestion.

Congestion in the terminals from the crowded stacks of containers and the increased truck traffic makes moving around the yards in the large power industrial trucks longshore workers use to move the cargo an increasing hazard. Despite all these problems, more cargo is being moved now than in any time in the history of the West Coast docks. This speedup is raising the potential for accidents, injuries and fatalities. After a recent rash of accidents and deaths at West Coast ports, ILWU workers are paying special attention to safety and trying to adhere to posted speed limits.