Pacific Maritime Association

THE YEAR IN REVIEW Labor Peace Critical To Waterfront Competitiveness Lessons should be taken from 2012 East Coast and regional struggles During the past year, the waterfront saw a number of labor/management conflicts, including a situation on the East Coast that threatened ports from the Northeast to the Gulf of Mexico. Yet at the same time, West Coast ports continued to reap the benefits of agreements that have been struck between the PMA and the ILWU. Following is a discussion of recent labor situations, the West Coast waterfront and the broader union picture in the United States. Lessons should be taken from 2012 East Coast and regional struggles East Coast Conflict During 2012, a major labor relations challenge took place on the East Coast in contentious contract negotiations between the International Longshore Association (ILA) and the employers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance. A focus on technology, modernization and jurisdiction has taken center stage on the East Coast, and by the end of 2012, a long-term agreement continued to be elusive, with the threat of a potential shutdown in 2013. Retailers, importers and others all watched closely to see whether the parties could address important issues without disrupting the economic recovery. This conflict focuses on issues similar to the ones PMA and ILWU addressed, with great difficulty, a decade ago. In many ways, the East Coast conflict underscores the accomplishments of the PMA and the ILWU over the last decade. Most notably, we reached an historic agreement on a technology framework that has led the way to 28 2012 ANNUAL REPORT modernize West Coast terminals in a manner that significantly improved the customer experience and resulted in greater reliability and predictability on the waterfront. Best Practices on West Coast Recent contracts negotiated by PMA and the ILWU reflect acknowledgement by all parties that modernization is critical to long-term competitiveness. These agreements Container TEUs - Loaded 16 (millions) have also been followed by positive results, both in terms of volume and staffing. Job numbers have increased on the West Coast in the last decade since the landmark 2002 technology agreement was reached. This result is particularly impressive when considering the Great Recession during which the West Coast experienced a significant decrease in volume and a temporary dip in waterfront employment. Average Annual Earnings $250 (thousands of dollars) (fully registered workers paid 2,000 hours or more) (excludes non-revenue cargo) 12 $200 8 $150 4 '92 '97 '02 '07 '12 0 Foremen Clerk Longshore $100 $50 '92 '97 '02 '07 '12

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