SIMIC

US west coast waterfront employers are urging acting Labour Secretary nominee Julie Su to help narrow the wide difference that exists between them and the dockers union on wage increases being negotiated, reported New York's Journal of Commerce.

Ms Su, nominated as Labour Secretary by President Joe Biden in February, was to meet the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), according to sources close the contract talks.



Maritime employers hope Ms Su, who face sharp Republican objection to her nomination, can get negotiators from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to move closer on wages that puts agreement within reach. ILWU negotiators have climbed down from the 101 per cent increase they initially sought, but the gap was still huge. Marine terminals and ocean carriers are agreeable to increases of more than 20 per cent for the life of the contract, far higher than the five to six per cent increases of earlier settlements.



Rank and file dockers who work a 40-hour week earn US$197,514 a year, while marine clerks get $220,042 and foremen are paid $306,291.



Pointing to billions in record Covid panic profits in 2021-22, the ILWU says marine terminals and container lines now need to pay up, particularly after dockers kept cargo flowing. The container line profits are now slowing in a downcycle, with HSBC forecasting profit for the industry will fall 80 per cent by 2024.



The union accused the PMA of using media to "leverage one-sided information in an attempt to influence the process." The two sides have been negotiating for 13 months.