Monday, August 6, 2012

Hanjin returns to Port of Portland, union dispute continues

Starting Saturday, Hanjin Shipping will go back to calling weekly at the Port of Portland after circumventing the port for the past month.

The company was waiting for the port’s labor dispute to be resolved before resuming service there, but the union conflict is ongoing.

The longshoremen’s union and the electrician’s union are battling in court over which labor union has jurisdiction over two jobs plugging, unplugging and monitoring refrigerated cargo containers, reefers, at the port. Right now, under a temporary arrangement, workers from the longshoremen’s union will be performing the two disputed jobs.

Whether or not Hanjin continues to call weekly depends on whether the cargo is unloaded and loaded at a suitable speed on Saturday. The last Hanjin ship that called at Portland in June experienced significant delays.

Hapag-Lloyd, which also went on hiatus due to dock delays, resumed service to Portland after two weeks, although it is reevaluating the situation each week.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday testimony continued in federal court regarding the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's tactics in the dispute. The National Labor Relations Board accused ILWU of using work slowdowns to pressure terminal operator ICTSI to hand over the reefer work. The trial is currently on hold until August 20.

For more of the Oregon Live story: www.oregonlive.com

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