LOS ANGELES — The Pacific Maritime Association has filed a grievance charging that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refuses to implement the third and final phase of an automated dispatch system in Southern California.
The PMA Tuesday said it submitted the unfair labor practices claim Monday to the joint PMA/ILWU Coast Labor Relations Committee in San Francisco.
Waterfront employers and longshoremen last year worked together to develop an automated dispatch system designed to get dock workers to the wharves on time each day. Under the current system, which involves writing out assignments by hand at the dispatch hall, longshoremen often arrive an hour late to the terminal where they are assigned to work.
The computer that will handle the dispatch process is in place, and longshoremen are able to call in and check on job availability. However, the system will achieve the effectiveness it was designed for only if the assignments for individual longshoremen are printed electronically.
The PMA charges that the ILWU refuses to cooperate in the implementation of this final phase of the project because it is using the automated dispatch system as leverage to force employers to accept the union’s choice for a new arbitrator in Los Angeles-Long Beach.
John Pandora, the former area arbitrator, died about two months ago. An ILWU caucus in March chose David Arian, former ILWU president, as its choice to be the arbitrator. In order to be confirmed, though, Arian must be approved by the PMA. Joseph Miniace, PMA president, said employers refuse to accept Arian because they feel he is too pro-labor and would not be a fair and impartial arbitrator.
Area arbitrators have an important role on the waterfront. When there is a labor dispute that results in a work stoppage, the area arbitrator is immediately called to the terminal to gather evidence and issue a ruling. Both sides normally accept the ruling and work resumes.
Miniace said the ILWU is already under an order from Pandora to implement the automated dispatch system. He said the union is engaging in unfair labor practices by refusing to follow the order.
Ramon Ponce de Leon, president of ILWU Local 13 in Los Angeles-Long Beach, disagreed with that interpretation. The automated dispatch system cannot be fully implemented until certain loose ends are tied up, such as determining how many windows to open up each day and how many electronic screens to operate.
These and other technicalities can only be resolved by an arbitrator, Ponce de Leon said, adding that when a new area arbitrator is named, implementation of the automated dispatch system can proceed quickly, he added.
The PMA/ILWU Coast Labor Relations Committee is considering the complaint. If the committee fails to resolve the issue, it would be turned over to the coast arbitrator in San Francisco.
