As 进口商开始为旺季做计划在美国，许多人都在关注西海岸港口的劳资谈判状况.
自 合同期满 在国际海岸之间 & 仓库联盟(ILWU)和太平洋海事协会(PMA)于去年7月, 双方一直在进行谈判，以解决摆在桌面上的许多问题.
But progress has been painfully slow for everyone involved—including supply chain stakeholders who are caught up in the uncertainty of determining whether West Coast ports will be capable of providing the reliable service they need both now and in the future.
被拉长的后果
漫长的合同谈判过程和对历史重演的恐惧导致了 向东的支点 for some shippers unwilling to take a chance that their goods will get stuck in the midst of contract wrangling.
一些人说，这可能不是暂时的.
而不是, those who’ve made the pivot—even for what may have initially been considered a short-term solution—are benefiting from the infrastructure investments being made in East Coast and Gulf Coast ports and the efficiencies they can provide.
我们的 article in late February 2022 described how East and Gulf Coast ports have been planning and investing to make the most of new opportunities—starting with the 扩建巴拿马运河这使得更大的集装箱船得以通过.
改善他们的产品, 这些港口实施了疏浚等新项目, 终端扩张, 必要时架桥, 扩大铁路bat365官方, 创造新事物 内陆港口.
正如洛里·安·拉罗科在一篇 CNBC的文章 去年年底，“未解决的港口劳工谈判”和 AB5卡车运输法 这两个国家是否都在向东转移战略中发挥了作用, “似乎每个月都在巩固一个更有可能是永久性的转变……”.
早在 12月, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka acknowledged that he was concerned about the impact of unresolved contract negotiations on business at West Coast ports.
他表示，在这三个关键领域中，他近期将重点关注, 敲定合同是最重要的.
“首先，我们必须完成这份劳动合同，”塞洛卡说. “Both sides are working hard and I remain optimistic that these very capable negotiators are going to get an agreement together early next year. 这正是货主们所期待的，所以这一切发生得越快越好.”
The other two priorities related to getting out to “work for every pound of freight” — which was part of his “whistle stop tour” in which he aimed to “demonstrate why LA should be our customers’ first choice” — and to improve service at the port.
停工扰乱了bat365官方
但正如格雷格·米勒在一篇 4月9日 FreightWaves, things may not have gone exactly as Seroka planned: “The Port of Los Angeles’ sales pitch to importers in recent months has been: We have plenty of capacity now. 船只不再排队等候. 港口劳动合同于7月1日到期, 2022, 但在新合同谈判期间，进口并未受到重大干扰. 不需要通过巴拿马运河把你的货物运到东海岸或墨西哥湾沿岸. 回洛杉矶吧! 这一推销说辞，就其曾经奏效的程度而言，在上周五失效了.”
What Miller is referring to is the 24-hour closure of terminal operations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from April 6 to April 7. 他指出，“周四夜班和周五白班关闭”. 周五的夜班恢复了工作.”
根据米勒的说法, the “ILWU Local 13 said members didn’t show up Thursday night because they happened to be busy at a monthly membership meeting, 新总统是在哪里任命的. 它说，工人星期五的缺席是由于工会成员与家人共度宗教节日.”
然而，PMA从另一个角度看待工作中断.
在一个 4月13日声明, PMA说:“ILWU Local 13, 工会在西海岸最大的地方, 继续扰乱洛杉矶港和长滩港的运营, 全国最大的港口综合体. 尽管工会正在使用新的策略，但结果是一样的:码头运营中断.”
The PMA listed several instances of what it apparently perceived to be intentional actions on the part of the union chapter:
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“上周, ILWU Local 13拒绝了关闭洛杉矶和长滩港口码头的工人.”
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“本周, 工会单方面推迟了标准的派遣程序, 由物业管理协会和工会联合管理, 拒绝让PMA参与劳务派遣过程.”
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“除了, 工会已经迫使几个主要码头的关键货物装卸设备停止运行.”
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“This latest work action comes about a month after ILWU Local 13 in Southern California stopped complying with a contract provision providing employers the right to assign staggered shifts during meal periods so cargo can continue to be received and delivered without interruption.”
“工会的协调行动正在进行，而新的沿海合同的谈判仍在继续,PMA表示. “……正如多年来一直指出的那样, any actions that undermine confidence in West Coast ports threaten to further accelerate the diversion of discretionary cargo to Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. 货物转移使高质量的工作面临风险，远远超出了码头, 包括卡车司机, 仓库工人, 还有成千上万的人的生计依赖于港口正在进行的作业.”
作为这种动态的结果, Miller says uncertainty about the reliability of West Coast ports has contributed to the eastward shift: “…now-validated concerns over West Coast labor disruptions due to the expired contract compelled U.S. 从2022年年中开始，进口商将把供应链更多地转移到东部和墨西哥湾沿岸的港口.”
意想不到的连锁反应
米勒还指出，对一些人来说，这种转变可能是永久性的.
他说，Flexport海洋战略副总裁Nerijus Poskus最近告诉他 FreightWaves他说:“到东海岸的航运bat365官方比以往任何时候都多. 你建立了新的供应链. (进口商)可以搬回去，但他们为什么要搬回去? 人们已经习惯了这种新的现实. 我不认为这与西海岸遭受袭击的风险有太大关系. 我不认为西海岸能赢回所有份额.”
强调港口bat365官方不可靠和港口数量下降对农产品出口商的影响, 米勒还引用了彼得·弗里德曼的话, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC): “Ocean carriers put vessels in service to carry the higher-value import consumer goods. 它们在回程中运送价值相对较低的农产品出口. As ships that carried imports that would have called on West Coast ports are now serving Gulf and East Coast ports, 农产品出口受到威胁.”
在一个 《bat365官方网站》的评论, 克里斯托弗·唐, 加州大学洛杉矶分校安德森管理学院的杰出教授, described concerns about the efficiency of West Coast ports and the unintended ripple effect that may result from workers’ resistance to automation.
“洛杉矶港和长滩港的效率是出了名的低，”他写道. 在全球351个集装箱港口中, 世界银行将洛杉矶港排在第328位, 长滩333街.”
“采用自动化和数字技术将提高港口效率, but the port workers labor union is concerned that innovative technologies may affect their members’ job security,他补充道. ”这样的, modernizing West Coast ports is a sensitive subject as negotiations continue to replace a contract that expired in July 2022.”
强调提高港口效率和可靠性的重要性, 唐描述了另一种严峻的选择.
“如果这些港口无法竞争，将引发美国西部的经济衰退.S. 这可能会损害这些港口工人及其家人的福祉，”他写道. “虽然你.S. 进口商在选择进口港口方面有一定的灵活性.S. 出口商的选择有限. 例如，在出口易腐农产品时，时间是至关重要的. These exporters need to ship their fruits and vegetables through the nearest ports so that their overseas customers can receive these products while they’re still fresh.”
越来越多的沮丧和担忧
除了农业产业, the sluggish pace of contract negotiations has created growing frustration and concern among other industry leaders.
今年3月, 238个国家、州和地方贸易协会 给拜登总统写信，敦促他采取行动.
以下是节选 这封信:
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“劳动合同已经到期八个多月了. 谈判已经进行了十个多月, 在达成新的长期协议方面几乎没有任何进展. It is imperative that the 管理istration work with the parties to quickly reach a new agreement and ensure there is no disruption to port operations and cargo fluidity.”
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“正如我们所看到的, significant cargo flows have shifted away from the West Coast ports because of the uncertainty related to the labor negotiations. 当然还有其他问题影响着西海岸的港口, 许多货物利益相关者明确表示，由于谈判，他们转移了货物. 在合同最终确定并得到双方批准之前，这些货物不会返回西海岸. The longer there is no ratified contract only increases the probability that some portion of the freight will never return to the West Coast ports.”
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“企业已经为至关重要的航运旺季做出了航运决定, 哪个项目将在今年夏天开始. 尽管货运量有所下降，但我们仍然面临着供应链压力和挑战. 虽然许多国家继续从大流行病相关问题中恢复过来, the ongoing stress of inflation and economic uncertainty continues to impact supply chain stakeholders as well.”
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“缺乏劳动合同增加了这种不确定性. 虽然我们感谢双方同意不进行罢工或停工, 我们注意到一些影响码头运营的活动.”
希望在地平线上?
这一切都危在旦夕，最近来自 《bat365官方网站》 给我带来了新鲜空气.
“西海岸港口的劳工协议进入视野5月8日的标题写道.
“Contract talks between unionized longshore workers and employers at West Coast ports appear to be headed into their final stretch following agreements on several major issues, 这可能会消除一直笼罩在美国经济上的不确定性.S. 进口商即将进入关键的秋季销售季节，”保罗·伯杰写道. 一些熟悉谈判的航运官员希望，双方能在6月之前达成初步协议, ending a contentious period in port labor relations that prompted some of the country’s biggest retailers and manufacturers to shift goods away from the region to avoid possible disruptions.”
5月15日，彭博社(Bloomberg)的劳拉•柯蒂斯(Laura Curtis)也提出了一些建议 令人振奋的消息.
Biden's supply chain envoy expresses optimism about a labor agreement at US West Coast ports after a year of negotiations http://t.co/oiDmuCBnlQ
——彭博社(@business) 2023年5月13日
一项临时协议涵盖了美国最大的石油公司的海岸工人.S. 经过工会和雇主一年的谈判，港口已经触手可及, 据一位参与会谈的拜登政府官员透露,她写道。. “斯蒂芬·里昂, 白宫的供应链特使, 他5月初在洛杉矶参与了谈判, 表示乐观.”
“我从双方得到的反馈都是积极的, 也就是说我们很快就会看到初步协议,据报道，莱昂斯在5月10日的一封电子邮件中说.
