News / PMA ramps up the rhetoric amid west coast labour talks

Credit Port of Oakland

Tension on the US west coast, between unions and employers, continues to rise with the latest declaration from the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) accusing dock workers of operational disruptions.

Last week, the employer body accused the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) Local 13 of taking “concerted action” to withhold labour, resulting in stories suggesting this had closed Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.

The ILWU said it had held a monthly meeting on 7 April, and that staff were celebrating Good Friday.

But ...