Excerpts from the Journal of Commerce:
Contract negotiations resumed Monday between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association after the holiday recess, but it appears that no significant progress will be made until both parties agree to compromise on the controversial issue of chassis maintenance and repair.
Until this year, shipping lines purchased, maintained and repaired the chassis that harbor truckers use to dray containers to and from marine terminals. The lines are PMA members, so much, but not all, of the chassis M&R work at marine terminals is performed by ILWU mechanics.
The shipping lines this year sold most of their chassis to equipment-leasing companies. Those companies are not PMA members and therefore have no contractual relationship with the ILWU. The union is concerned that the companies will have chassis M&R work performed at off-dock sites with non-ILWU labor.
The ILWU is reportedly demanding that marine terminal operators require that ILWU mechanics inspect chassis before truckers are allowed to pull the chassis and containers from their facilities. The terminals and shipping lines say that since they no longer own the equipment, they are powerless to make such a demand.