By Mark Edward Nero
Port Metro Vancouver and the governments of Canada and British Columbia on May 2 announced joint funding of $1.71 million for an expedited initiative to outfit the remainder of the port’s container truck fleet with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
With the completion of the initiative, Port Metro Vancouver says it will be the only port in North America to have a full truck fleet using GPS-monitoring. The GPS technology is expected to provide a complete, accurate and real-time base of data enabling insight to routing and operational information to help manage congestion and wait times.
Under an existing GPS program, about half the trucks hauling goods to and from the port were outfitted with GPS transponder units between 2012 and 2013. The remaining trucks are to be outfitted with GPS units as part of the expedited initiative, which is expected to be completed by this July.
The initiative is the result of a March 26 agreement between the governments of Canada and British Columbia and Port Metro Vancouver reached agreement with members of the United Truckers Association and labor union Unifor.
The agreement resulted in the end of a 28-day strike at the port by drayage truck drivers. The expedited implementation of Port Metro Vancouver’s GPS Program represents one point in a 15-point joint action plan agreed to by both sides that the port says will provide a framework for long-term stability in the container trucking industry.
The current round of funding is being split amongst three contributors, with Transport Canada providing $ 855,000, Port Metro Vancouver $ 595,000, and the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure providing $ 260,000. This brings the total cost of the program, which started in 2013, to over $2.5 million.
Showing posts with label Unifor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unifor. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Metro Vancouver Threatens to Terminate Striking Truckers’ Permits
By Mark Edward Nero
Port Metro Vancouver, which has dealt with a strike by hundreds of drayage truck drivers for over a week now, is threatening to revoke truckers’ permits to operate at the port if they don’t return to work.
Port Metro Vancouver, which has dealt with a strike by hundreds of drayage truck drivers for over a week now, is threatening to revoke truckers’ permits to operate at the port if they don’t return to work.
In a March 16 statement, port President and CEO Robin
Silvester urged the truckers to immediately get back to the job, and touted a
plan the port facilitated by both Transport Canada and British Columbia’s
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure that was released last week. The
plan addressed pay rates and wait times, two of the issues that caused the
striking truckers to walk off the job.
“We are ready to move ahead with the 14-point joint action
plan released on Thursday, March 13,” Silvester said. “It addresses concerns
raised by truckers in areas such as compensation and wait times and is a means
to get port operations back to normal.”
However, the Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers’
Association, the union representing the striking drivers, says the joint action plan, which
includes such broadly-worded provisions as assessing wage and fuel surcharge
rates by mid-2015 and restructuring the trucking licensing system and the
additional rolling out of GPS technology for trucks, does not meet the
truckers’ concerns.
In the port’s statement, Silvester warned that truckers not
returning to work within an unspecified time would be at risk of losing their
licenses to operate at the port.
“The efficient movement of marine containers through Port
Metro Vancouver is critical to Canada’s Asia Pacific Gateway and Canada’s
economy,” Silvester said. “Truckers have Port Metro Vancouver-issued permits
that allow them, through trucking companies, to provide service to terminals at
the port. A continued refusal by some truckers to provide such service is
likely to result in suspension or termination of their permits by Port Metro
Vancouver.”
Picket lines were set up at nine locations around the port
on March 10 as a result of a vote earlier in the month by Unifor to authorize a
strike. The roughly 400 union truckers joined with several hundred members of
the non-union United Truckers Association of British Columbia, which began a
work stoppage and set up a blockade at Port Metro Vancouver on Feb. 26 in
protest of long wait times at port terminals.
Vince Ready, a mediator appointed by Canadian Transport
Minister Lisa Raitt, has thus far been unable to hammer out an agreement
between the various parties.
An estimated 90 percent of truck traffic has been halted,
according to the port. The economic impact of truckers walking off the job,
Silvester said, is about $885 million per week.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Port Metro Vancouver Truckers
Launch Work Stoppage
By Mark Edward Nero
Members of the United Truckers Association of British Columbia began a work stoppage and set up a blockade at Port Metro Vancouver on Feb. 26 in protest of long wait times at port terminals.
An estimated 1,300 container trucks clogged the port in a protest over the wait times to pick up and drop off containers. UTA representatives have said the waits can sometimes be hours long.
“We’re sitting out on their property two, three hours,” Manny Dosange of the UTA said. “The employers have done their part: they got the work, they got us the container, they got us the appointment to be somewhere with that container, but it’s the receiving end of it that’s not prepared to take it on.”
The port has blamed recent issues with delays at terminals on extreme weather conditions in eastern and central North America, which have resulted in trains being shortened and slowed so they could operate safely. Also, ship delays have been blamed on storms in the Pacific Ocean.
Although the truckers are represented by the non-profit UTA, they’re not officially represented. Another labor organization, Unifor, represents about 400 unionized drivers at the port.
Several hundred trucks not participating in the work stoppage were able to access the port the first day of the strike, Port Metro Vancouver officials said in a statement regarding the labor issues, but acknowledged there have been problems. “We have heard reports of violence and verbal intimidation towards drivers at varied locations outside the port and at port entrances with some truck drivers deciding to turn away,” according to the statement.
The statement goes on to encourage trucking companies to work with truckers to reach common ground on the pay issue. However, Unifor is expected to have a vote on March 1 regarding whether or not to join the non-unionized truckers’ work stoppage. If the strike measure is approved, the union workers would be required to give 72 hours’ notice before walking off the job.
Members of the United Truckers Association of British Columbia began a work stoppage and set up a blockade at Port Metro Vancouver on Feb. 26 in protest of long wait times at port terminals.
An estimated 1,300 container trucks clogged the port in a protest over the wait times to pick up and drop off containers. UTA representatives have said the waits can sometimes be hours long.
“We’re sitting out on their property two, three hours,” Manny Dosange of the UTA said. “The employers have done their part: they got the work, they got us the container, they got us the appointment to be somewhere with that container, but it’s the receiving end of it that’s not prepared to take it on.”
The port has blamed recent issues with delays at terminals on extreme weather conditions in eastern and central North America, which have resulted in trains being shortened and slowed so they could operate safely. Also, ship delays have been blamed on storms in the Pacific Ocean.
Although the truckers are represented by the non-profit UTA, they’re not officially represented. Another labor organization, Unifor, represents about 400 unionized drivers at the port.
Several hundred trucks not participating in the work stoppage were able to access the port the first day of the strike, Port Metro Vancouver officials said in a statement regarding the labor issues, but acknowledged there have been problems. “We have heard reports of violence and verbal intimidation towards drivers at varied locations outside the port and at port entrances with some truck drivers deciding to turn away,” according to the statement.
The statement goes on to encourage trucking companies to work with truckers to reach common ground on the pay issue. However, Unifor is expected to have a vote on March 1 regarding whether or not to join the non-unionized truckers’ work stoppage. If the strike measure is approved, the union workers would be required to give 72 hours’ notice before walking off the job.
