Excerpts from the Portland Business Journal:
“There are much bigger issues at play, issues that strike at the heart of our collective bargaining agreement,” Leal Sundet, the union’s coast committeeman, said in a news release.
While two jobs are at issue, the longshore union has argued that the larger problem is with ICTSI’s refusal to follow terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
ICTSI, which took control of the Port of Portland’s container business two years ago, became a member of the PMA shortly after signing its lease with the port. The longshoremen have argued that in joining the PMA, ICTSI is required to comply with its labor agreement and award the jobs to their workers.
“The carriers who left Portland did so after demanding that ICTSI hire longshore workers as required by their contract,” Sundet said. “When ICTSI refused to follow the contract, the carriers left and went to terminals that were in compliance.”