By Mark Edward Nero
Disruptions from waterfront labor negotiations have waned,
but don’t
expect a return to business as usual at West Coast ports, the Port of Oakland’s
executive director said during a March 4 meeting of the Waterfront Coalition in
Long Beach, Calif.
“The old methods won’t work any longer,”
Port of Oakland executive director Chris Lytle told the Coalition, which is
based in Washington, DC and consists of business interests representing
shippers, transportation providers and other stakeholders within the
transportation supply chain.
“We can’t go back to the way it was;
that’s
not acceptable,”
Lytle said during a 90-minute roundtable discussion that also included
the heads of the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports. “We have to
do a better job for our customers if we want to hold onto our market share.”
Lytle also addressed the aftermath of nine months of
labor-management disputes on the waterfront. The longshore contract impasse
ended Feb. 20 with a new five-year contract for 29 ports along the US West
Coast.
Ports are currently digging out from a cargo backlog, and
during the roundtable, Lytle called for a number of improvements to reshape his
industry as recovery from the labor dispute gets underway.
His suggestions included reduced transaction times for
harbor truck drivers, who sometimes spend more than two hours inside marine
terminals picking up cargo; better measurement of terminal operating
performance; and a new labor-management relationship.
“We need a new mindset for negotiating,”
Lytle said. “What we just went through was the worst experience
in my professional career. I don't want to go through that again.”
Lytle also said there’s an opportunity for ports to
play a greater role in labor relations by working with labor and management for
greater collaboration. Although ports don’t hire longshore labor –
terminal operators and shipping lines in the Pacific Maritime Association do --
Lytle said the port will meet with local labor officials and encourage them to
take part in talks with shippers who rely on the Port of Oakland to move their
cargo.
Better understanding of shipper needs can lead to better
outcomes in future bargaining,” he said.
The port will also work with leasing companies to improve
the availability of truck chassis’ used to haul cargo containers, he added, indicating
that the Port of Oakland will work toward a common pool of the trailers to
prevent shortages from recurring.
