Labor Disputes On West Coast Ports

Al Jazeera America posted an article on February 13^th, 2015 about the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s (a dockworkers’ union which represents 20,000 workers) contract dispute with the Pacific Maritime Association. The, “dockworkers’ union and trade group have been locked in a standoff over new contract terms for months”, and 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast were closed this past Thursday to cargo ships for the second time in less than a week. Jonathan Gold, the vice president of the supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation, told Al Jazeera, “[the PMA and ILWU] essentially have the economy held hostage right now”. The ports, “affected by the slowdown handle one-quarter of the U.S. international trade” ($1 trillion worth of cargo annually), and is costing the U.S. economy $2 billion dollars a day. 

For a better idea of what is going on, here are some pictures of the ports taken from a helicopter.