Two of the most important ports in the United States, those of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California, are stopped on Friday because of a social movement started the day before, which interrupted container traffic, for lack of manpower. work.
The dockers’ union has organized “a concerted action to prevent the work” on the two sites, explained in a press release the Pacific Maritime Association, an organization which represents container carriers. This “resulted in the effective closure of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest gateway for maritime commerce in the United States”.
“The majority of positions from last night have not been filled, including all material handler jobs required to load and unload freight,” the statement said.
Negotiations have been taking place for almost a year between this group of industrialists and the union in question, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), to agree on a new collective agreement covering the thousands of employees of the two ports.
The previous one expired on July 1st and discussions between employers and employees are stumbling over the issue of wages and that of the robotization of work.
Together, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle approximately 20 million containers of cargo each year, worth more than $300 billion.
The prospect of a social conflict has caused container traffic in California to fall in recent months: customers choose as a precaution to send their goods through the east coast or the Gulf of Mexico, to avoid possible blockages.
“These actions undermine confidence in West Coast ports,” the Pacific Maritime Association warned.
In a press release, the union assured that its members “remain voluntary and able to work”.
On this Good Friday, only “union members who observe religious holidays took the opportunity to celebrate them with their families,” the ILWU said.
During the pandemic, ports around the world have become congested as demand from confined consumers increases for capital goods.
According to economists, this problem has persisted and contributed to the inflation that has gripped the world after the Covid-19 epidemic, as consumers demand products that do not arrive quickly enough.
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