A federal judge has indefinitely
extended his previous order mandating that members of a labor union involved in
a dispute with marine terminal management not engage in a work slowdown at the Port
of Portland.
In his July 19 order, U.S.
District Judge Michael Simon ruled that the no-slowdown injunction against the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union should stay in effect until the National Labor Relations
Board rules on allegations that longshoremen staged slowdowns and made threats against
terminal operator ICTSI Oregon.
The previous order banning
slowdowns, which Simon issued July 3, expired after 10 days. The new order however,
is indefinite; the NLRB could take months to issue a ruling on the charges.
Also on July 19, Judge Simon
cleared the ILWU against allegations that it had not adhered to the terms of his
July 3 anti-slowdown injunction. The NLRB filed a motion July 6, asking Simon to
find the union in contempt of court for not complying with an order the judge issued
July 3 barring the union members from “engaging in slowdowns, stoppages, withholding
of services, or threatening, coercing or restraining ICTSI Oregon Inc., or any other
person engaged in commerce.”
But in his ruling, the judge
said that although some longshoremen may have worked at a slower than normal speed
at the port’s Terminal 6 while unloading a German container ship the day following
the order, those dockworkers may not have gotten word of the injunction barring
slowdowns.
The labor dispute’s origins
go back to earlier this year, when the ILWU began insisting that its contract with
the Pacific Maritime Association requires the terminal operator to hire longshore
workers to handle the plugging and unplugging of refrigerated containers, work that
until recently had been performed by another union, the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers.
Although the ILWU has denied
an orchestrated slowdown, work productivity began noticeably slowing down at Terminal
6 in June.
The next containership at
Portland is due to arrive on Aug. 4.
