Federal mediators sail into dispute at ports including Oakland

Cargo ships sit idle in San Francisco Bay last week. The contract conflict between the longshore workers’ union and the shipping lines and terminal operators has caused extensive delays at the Port of Oakland and 29 others. less Cargo ships sit idle in San Francisco Bay last week. The contract conflict between the longshore workers’ union and the shipping lines and terminal operators has caused extensive delays at the Port of Oakland ... more Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Federal mediators sail into dispute at ports including Oakland 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Enter the mediators, “prepared and ready to render prompt assistance” to end a six-month standoff between shippers and dockworkers that has worsened congestion and problems at the Port of Oakland and across the West Coast.

The acting director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service made the announcement Tuesday, after receiving what the agency called “a request for assistance” from the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 West Coast ports, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing 20,000 West Coast longshore workers.

“The announcement shows that both sides understand the importance of arriving at a contract settlement,” Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle said in a statement. “The impasse has affected port operations up and down the West Coast and the sooner it’s resolved, the sooner we can resume the normal flow of trade in and out of the U.S.”

It may not be quick. There were no statements Tuesday from the maritime association or the ILWU, and no meeting date or place has been announced.

“It’s a promising development,” said Jock O’Connell, international trade adviser at Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, citing the agency’s role in settling contract issues dividing East Coast dockworkers and terminal operators in 2012. “But it’s not a slam-dunk assurance that a resolution of the contract talks will happen soon.”

The two sides remain far apart on basic issues, including wages, pensions, job jurisdiction and work rules, according to a maritime association statement last week.

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Under the contract, which expired in May, longshore workers’ pay ranges from $25.71 per hour for low-seniority workers with no benefits to $35.68 per hour plus benefits for high-seniority workers. According to association statements, longshore workers earn on average $147,000 a year — a figure ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees, in an e-mail, labeled “demonstrably false” and “irresponsible.”

Safety an issue

“The pay is very good for blue collar work, but also extremely dangerous with fatality rates that exceed those of police and firefighters,” said Merrilees. Work safety is one of the issues likely to be raised by the union. Conditions have been made worse by congestion beyond its control, the group says.

Jurisdiction — who does what — probably will be an equally big issue. Neither side has spelled out specifics, but the maintenance and repair of truck chassis (on which containers are loaded for transport) is one the union has reportedly set its sights on. Chassis are outsourced to equipment-leasing companies that are often located outside the ports, an arrangement both sides agree has contributed to long delays and serious congestion at West Coast ports.

“In last year’s East/Gulf Coast port negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, the ILA won a concession that its people would control maintenance of chassis,” said O’Connell. “I expect the ILWU has been pressing for a similar outcome.”

As of Tuesday morning, six container ships sat idle outside the Port of Oakland. Trucks waited in line for hours at terminals, as they have done for months at ports from Los Angeles to Seattle. Numerous businesses, big and small, did not get the goods they were expecting in time for the holiday season. The Institute for Supply Management last week reported a decline in manufacturing nationwide in December, in part attributable to problems at West Coast ports.

Long-term problems

“Even when a contract is signed, though, the fundamental problems with the industry will likely remain,” said Cory Peters, vice president of drayage operations at Gardner Trucking in Manteca (San Joaquin County), which transports cargo in and out of the Port of Oakland on a daily basis. “If the ports, terminals and labor cannot admit there are actual problems, nothing will ever get solved long term.”

Record delay

“Congestion and delays are at all-time highs,” he added. “We had one of our trucks in Los Angeles yesterday (Monday) set a record — for us — for longest time to pull out one container: 12.5 hours to bobtail into the terminal and pick up one load delivering 10 miles away in Torrance. A normal $300 move turned into a $1,200 move for the customer.”

In its statement, the Port of Oakland, which is not involved in the contract negotiations, acknowledged there have been “productivity declines that slowed trade flow,” especially in recent weeks, citing unresolved labor-management issues as “one of the principal causes.”

“A new contract for dockworkers is expected to help restore the flow of containerized cargo,” the statement said.

Andrew S. Ross is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: asross@sfchronicle.com Blog:http://blog.sfgate.com/bottomline Twitter: @andrewsross