WEST COAST WATERFRONT COALITION ASKS FOR EARLY NEGOTIATIONS

-Group Cites Concerns about Security as a Major Factor that Should Speed up the Time Frame for this year's Labor Talks-

January 24, 2002 - Washington, DC - In a letter sent jointly to International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) President James Spinosa and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) President Joseph Miniace yesterday, the West Coast Waterfront Coalition urged both parties to move up the time table for labor talks slated to begin later this year on the contract that will expire in July.

Citing concerns over port security, the group told the key parties in the labor negotiations that "the events of September 11, 2001, have drastically redefined 'business as usual' in the global transportation and logistics chain. Today, in the wake of these tragic events, every stakeholder in the logistics chain must stop and reevaluate their practices and take immediate and long range steps to ensure that global commerce is secure but not disrupted."

The group specifically identified information technology at the nation's West Coast Ports as a key issue that must be resolved in the upcoming negotiations. "The federal government is now looking at new regulations and legislation to establish a 'chain of custody' for incoming and outgoing containers," West Coast Waterfront Coalition Executive Director Robin Lanier said. "This means integrated data systems with strong encryption and moving toward paperless systems. Our members are hoping that a strike and/or major slowdowns at the ports can be avoided this year. Those kinds of disruptions will be very damaging to the national economy, which is already on shaky ground because of low consumer confidence and the terror attacks last fall. It was a slow peak season last year, which means smaller inventories are planned this year, and that means that shippers are already making contingency plans. No one wants to be caught without merchandise next fall season. At the same time, no one wants to have large inventory carrying costs, either," Ms. Lanier said. "We believe early negotiations can avoid this kind of disruption. More important, we believe labor and management needs to sit down early to fully discuss the new issues that September 11 has raised."

Right now that isn't happening at the ports, but it has to happen to insure the integrity of containers and the data upon which the government and private entities will undertake risk assessments," she said.

The letter goes on to say that the coalition is "well aware of the long-standing debate between labor and management over issues such as information technology improvements that will create a seamless stream of information about cargo, as well as jurisdictional issues of importance to the union. Clearly these are issues for the bargaining table, but they are also very complex and will take time to solve in ways that will improve national security and ensure economic security as well."

A copy of the text of the Coalition's letter is available here. For more information about the West Coast Waterfront Coalition, you can contact Robin Lanier at (202) 293-7642 ext. 201, or visit the group's website at www.portmod.org.