Long Beach: It’s time for a sea change in how port labour relations are conducted, Port of Oakland executive director Chris Lytle said on Wednesday.
With effects of the recently-resolved longshore contract dispute reverberating, Lytle declared to a meeting of stakeholders: “The old methods won’t work any longer … We have to do a better job for our customers if we want to hold onto our market share.”
The contract dispute had handcuffed operations at west coast US ports from San Diego to Seattle, and was the culmination of nine months of labour disputes.
As ports clear the cargo backlog, Lytle called for a new industrial relations dynamic in which ports play a role working with labour and management – represented by the Pacific Maritime Association – for greater collaboration. “We need a new mindset for negotiating,” Lytle said.
He also called for reduced transaction times for harbour truck drivers and better measurements of terminal operating performance.
