WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dock workers in 29 shipping terminals along the West Coast have begun working on a full schedule again after a tentative agreement was reached late Friday in their labor dispute.
The slowdown began in October 2014 as employers and employees tried to negotiate a new contract, said Wade Gates, with the Pacific Maritime Assoc. He helped negotiate a contract with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
"Agriculture was hit the hardest because it was harvest time," he said. Potatoes, apples, even Christmas trees were unable to ship in a timely fashion. In recent weeks, meats, including pork, have run out of freezer space.
He said the union organizers must present the proposal to the members and the members must ratify the agreement before the five-year contract is official. Because of the number of people in the union, he thinks the vote will be conducted by mail and the agreement may not be official until April.
"As the top farm export in the country, we were very relieved to hear about the agreement," said Patrick Delaney, American Soybean Assoc. communications director. "Storage capacity is always an issue ... we need that backlog taken care of."
He said exporters are running out of places to store the soybeans. A major use of soybeans in the United States is feed for livestock. What would have been shipped as fresh meat is now being frozen – "When they have to freeze the meat, it immediately loses value," he said. "As meat takes a hit, it has a ripple effect."
Farmers are receiving less for their meat, and the soybean farmers are selling fewer soybeans. Delaney said the industrial freezers on the West Coast and in the Midwest are all full of meat products and shippers are trying to find new places to store the frozen product on the East Coast.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the backlog of items has started affecting other methods of transportation. He was involved in daily phone conversations for the past several weeks to try to assist in the negotiations.
One of the last remaining issues focused on an arbitrator, Vilsack said, adding disputes on the docks are generally settled by an arbitrator. The current one is a former union member with close ties to members of the board of directors of the company involved in the dispute.
Gates added the arbitration system was discussed, with some changes made. "We have a clear understanding of the significant impact this is having on agriculture trade and agriculture shipments," Vilsack said. "This dispute is having an impact on the entire country."
The dock workers initiated a complete shutdown of the ports the weekend before last, he said Friday. Ships were waiting in ports to unload cargo and collect new shipments. Trucks and trains could not deliver cargo to the docks because there was a lack of space to store items.
"This is not just about a labor management dispute. This is a dispute that has an impact on the entire country," he said. "It (took) both parties to get to a place where this can be resolved." He said by stressing to both sides that the strike is having a profound impact on the economy, specifically agriculture, a resolution occurred.
