Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Port of Oakland commission approves "impasse actions" in stalled service employee contract talks

The Port of Oakland announced its board of commissioners voted to initiate "impasse actions" that could include bringing in a third-party mediator as it deals with stalled contract negotiations with Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

The agreement between the port and 250 janitorial, maintenance and security workers expired 12 months ago.

The port said in a statement that it had reached a tentative agreement with the SEIU in late March, but that the Local 1021 membership voted the deal down in April.

The Port of Oakland claimed it offered 42 proposals to the SEIU, of 29 have been resolved, and another 25 were withdrawn due to SEIU concerns.

The Northern California port said in a statement that its tentative agreement the SEIU subsequently rejected included: maintaining current wage levels; continuing full employer-paid healthcare with no retirement changes for current employees; current employees would pay 5 percent of the retirement plan, with the port paying 3 percent and a full 23.6 percent member share; new employees would pay 8 percent into the retirement plan; no cost-of-living increases through July 1, 2014; and continued port reimbursement of SDI payments.

As a result, the port said if a resolution between the two parties can't be reached; the impasse actions could include the appointment of a neutral third-party and ultimately a "last, best and final offer."

More Newswire stories

Are box carriers getting in their own way on rate increases?

CMA CGM posts $248 mil net loss for Q1

Port of Long Beach approves bigger $942 mil budget for 2013

Today's Cargo News Archives

Click to browse past stories on these topics:

Logistics

Ports & Infrastructure

Economic Outlook

Environmental Impact

Technology