The commissioners voted 7-2 on Jan. 9 to pay $10 per container to carriers who stop at the port’s Terminal 6, a sprawling Columbia River container yard. The program is capped at $1 million and expires at the end of 2013.
The longshore union sharply criticized the incentive program in a statement following the vote, saying ICTSI Oregon has mismanaged operations since taking over the terminal and has replaced a positive work environment with a “hostile” one.
“The carriers did not need bribes to come to Portland before ICTSI took over operations two years ago,” the union said in a statement.
Moreover, the union contends that “variations in productivity” are beyond the workers’ control, and depend on management decisions, personnel, physical conditions, the type of ship and other factors.