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It could happen in Virginia.
A unit of the Longshore and Warehouse Union shut down the APM Terminal,
the largest in Los Angeles, and three marine terminals at neighboring Long
Beach, to protest claims by the union that management has been outsourcing jobs
out of state and overseas.
The ILWU is the union covering dock workers from Washingto
state to California. The International Longshoremens Union covers dock workers
from Maine to Texas, including Virginia.
A strike on the West Coast could ripple through East Coast
union halls. Right now, contract talks between the ILA and management are
stalled, and ILA delegates are scheduled to meet in Del Ray Beach, Florida, to
discuss wages.
APM Terminal is the sister company of Maersk Line and a
division of Danish-based AP-Moeller Maersk, a worldwide shipping conglomerate
with oil and gas interests.
APM has pitched a bid to operate Virginia’s state-owned
marine terminals – and sweetened the offer with an upfront payment to the
state.
The West Coast union has always been far more aggressive and militant than the ILA. They disrupted traffic on the West Coast a couple of years ago which resulted in Hampton Roads picking-up new customers. I think we will get a deal done or an extension. The union leaders and membership on the West Coast are totally lacking in common sense.
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