YCD has learned that on Wednesday morning, longshoremen at the Port of Oakland on the West Coast of the United States suddenly went on strike. Several container terminals including Everport, TraPac, OICT and Howard were shut down. Terminal operations were completely shut down! There is now a major disruption to supply chains, causing a domino effect in normally bustling ports.
Notice sent to customers on the afternoon of November 2nd (United States time) : The labor union of Oakland Wharf decided to strike. Because the labor contract had expired, the arbitration mechanism could not be started, so the operation of the wharf had to stop all, and the first shift of all the docks in Oakland was suspended.
After the strike, the Port of Auckland immediately issued a notice, informing the possible impact of the strike and subsequent arrangements, which are as follows:
YCD found that in the notice, the Port of Oakland warned that the reason for the sudden strike was “due to the expiration of the labor contract,” as well as transportation costs for union civilian workers who live far away. Before that, the waiting time for a berth at the Oakland Terminal was more than 10 days because of the lack of union work, and any additional work stoppage would only worsen the situation.
The work stoppage was not an official action by the dock’s union, the ILWU, according to the report. In fact, a spokesman for the ILWU said, “I have not received any information about Oakland today, and if something happens there, it will be a local issue, not a union-wide issue or an issue for the entire West Coast of the United States port.”
In a statement, the Port of Oakland told local radio station KCBS, “They are aware of and closely monitoring the situation. We are working with our maritime partners to keep international trade flowing and protect local jobs. The port hopes that the ILWU and PMA can resolve this issue so that Auckland importers and exporters are not affected. The protesters have cleared the harbour area and our international Marine terminal will attempt to reopen during the shift tonight (Wednesday night), “he said.
According to freight magazine Overdrive, the Port of Oakland said in an email to local fleet owners that “the port’s Everport, TraPac, OICT and Howard terminals were closed on Wednesday morning, Matson and shipper Transport Express terminals are still open.”
“We are serious about this strike,” the dockworkers told KCBS radio. “It’s not just about money, it’s about our livelihood. To protect what you have, you have to be willing to fight for it. Now, we’re willing to fight for it, and we’re willing to go out there and do what we have to do to show them that we’re serious about this and we’re not just playing around with it.”
Even before the strike, ships had to wait more than 10 days at Oakland docks due to a lack of union work, so any additional work stoppage would only worsen the situation.