West Coast port authorities may be overstating the obvious when they decry “business as usual,” but it’s refreshing to see them finally coming around. Speaking to shippers at the Waterfront Coalition meeting last month, Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle said “the old methods” of dockside operations must be abandoned.
After nine months of labor-management disputes on the waterfront, the longshore contract impasse ended February 20 with a tentative settlement for ports from Seattle to San Diego. Ports are now digging out from a cargo backlog that has annoyed and hampered retailers and other shippers in the United States. Photo by Joel Williams
By Patrick Burnson
Published: April, 2015
West Coast port authorities may be overstating the obvious when they decry “business as usual,” but it’s refreshing to see them finally coming around. Speaking to shippers at the Waterfront Coalition meeting last month, Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle said “the old methods” of dockside operations must be abandoned.
“We can’t go back to the way it was; that’s not acceptable,” Lytle told an audience that included Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero. “We have to do a better job for our customers if we want to hold onto our market share.”
Lytle joined other West Coast port executives in addressing the aftermath of nine months of labor-management disputes on the waterfront. The longshore contract impasse ended February 20 with a tentative settlement of a new contract for ports from Seattle to San Diego.
Ports now are digging out from a cargo backlog that has hampered retailers and other shippers in the United States. Lytle called for a number of improvements to reshape his industry as recovery from the labor dispute gets underway. They include:
> Reduced transaction times for harbor truck drivers, who can spend more than two hours inside marine terminals picking up cargo;
> Better measurement of terminal operating performance; and
> A new labor-management relationship.
“We need a new mindset for negotiating,” Lytle said. “What we just went through was the worst experience in my professional career. I don’t want to go through that again.”
Collaborative Effort
Lytle said there is an opportunity for ports to play a greater role in labor relations by working with labor and management for greater collaboration.
The Port of Oakland does not hire longshore labor. That is the role of terminal operators and shipping lines in the Pacific Maritime Association. Nevertheless, Lytle said the port will meet with local labor officials and encourage them to take part in talks with shippers who rely on the Port of Oakland to move their cargo. “Better understanding of shipper needs can lead to better outcomes in future bargaining,” he said.
Lytle said the port will work with terminal operators to develop uniform methods of collecting and distributing performance data. Shippers and the truck drivers they hire have asked for the information needed to streamline the pickup and delivery of containerized cargo.
“The port will also work with leasing companies to improve the availability of truck chassis,” Lytle said. These are the trailers used to haul cargo containers over the road, and chassis have been in short supply at all West Coast ports during the recent cargo build-up. Lytle indicated that the port will work toward a common pool of the trailers to prevent shortages from recurring.
Fewer Injuries
On a brighter note, the Port of Oakland recently applauded labor and management on the U.S. West Coast waterfront for a record-low injury rate among dockworkers. According to an annual Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) safety report, there were 108 lost-time injury incidents at West Coast seaports in 2014. That’s down nearly 50 percent from a 2002 high of 202 incidents. There were no fatalities in 2014.
“We thank all of our maritime partners for maintaining the highest standards of safety along the Oakland waterfront and at ports up and down the West Coast,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “We are very excited to see this significant drop in injury incidents.”
As a landlord, the Port of Oakland leases its facilities to marine terminal operators. These terminal operators, along with other PMA member companies, submit data to the PMA Accident Prevention Department. The Accident Prevention Department maintains data submitted for compliance with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
“We are experiencing record-low lost-time injuries on U.S. West Coast terminals during a time when ships are getting bigger and more cargo is coming onto the terminals in a shorter period of time,” said PMA Accident Prevention and Security Director Gerald Swanson. “That’s something we can all be proud of.”
Two marine terminals at the Port of Oakland received special certificates from the PMA Accident Prevention Committee for reducing injury rates in 2014: Ports America Outer Harbor Terminal and Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT).
Patrick Burnson is the past president and current board member of the Pacific Transportation Association, based in San Francisco. www.pacifictrans.org
