LOS ANGELES - James Spinosa, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, shocked waterfront employers on Friday by saying he does not want to start early contract negotiations to discuss the implementation of technology at marine terminals.
The ILWU recognizes that computerization and automation are necessary to streamline the movement of cargo at West Coast ports, Spinosa said in a speech to the Harry Bridges Institute. But the high-pressure atmosphere of contract negotiations is not the proper forum to discuss issues involving logistics, he said.
“We need two sets of dialogue,” Spinosa said. During the coming year, the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents waterfront employers, should use established forums such as the joint ILWU-PMA technology committee, or the ILWU Town Hall meetings, to determine how cargo handling will be streamlined. A joint PMA-ILWU trip to high-tech ports like Hong Kong and Singapore also would be beneficial, he said.
When the modern technologies are understood and the types of waterfront jobs that are necessary are identified, the ILWU and PMA will be ready to enter negotiations for a new contract. The current three-year contract expires on July 1,2002, so contract negotiations should take place next year, Spinosa said.
In October, Spinosa had said that he would not rule out opening the contract to discuss technology-based productivity measures.
But at that time, he told a meeting of the Western Cargo Conference of freight forwarders and customs brokers that the conditions must be right.
PMA President Joseph Miniace, contacted late Friday in San Francisco, said he was disappointed by Spinosa’s most recent remarks.
“That’s news to me,” he said.
Miniace has already written a letter to Spinosa requesting that contract talks begin in March. Miniace said the PMA board was waiting for a positive response from the ILWU so formal negotiations could begin.
“It is very, very important that we tackle these issues in a timely manner with the help of the union. We have to sit down and address these issues before someone does it for us,” Miniace said.
