Port clerks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 63, returned to work with a tentative agreement that reportedly gives them a no-layoff clause and a pay increase for starting wages (from $33 to $37.50 per hour over three years). Though thousands of longshore workers returned to work, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach still suffers from a shortage of workers, according to industry reports. The picture at the Port of Miami-Dade is less positive. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order forcing independent truckers at the port to return to work. An estimated 700 drivers struck the port on June 28th, effectively halting the movement of containers through the port.
In Miami, only the Seaboard Marine terminal remained open during the strike. Truckers complained that their grievances had not been addressed and said they would fight the injunction. Truckers at the Miami port are considered independent contractors and, argued Miami-Dade County officials and Universal Maritime Service, that makes them private companies. , Under a 100-year-old law, private companies are not allowed to collude to boycott or raise rates.
In contrast, the ILWU, representing West Coast workers at Los Angeles/Long Beach, has 21 companies under collective bargaining agreements. They include: American President Lines, APM Terminals, California United Terminals, Centennial Stevedoring Services, China Shipping (North America) Agency Co., Consolidated Leasing Terminals, COSCO Agencies (Los Angeles), Evergreen America, Hapag Lloyd (America), Inchcape Shipping Services, International Transportation Services, Long Beach Container Terminal, Matson Terminals, Maersk Stevedoring Company, Marine Terminals Corporation, OOCL (USA), Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals, Pasha Terminals-Vehicle Processing Center, Support Services International, Yang Ming, Zim-American Israeli Shipping Co.
