Workforce

Crews of stevedores or longshoremen typically loaded and unloaded ships and moved cargo in and out of warehouses. Longshoremen employment began to decline in the 1950s, and most workers depended on the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) or the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to preserve existing longshore jobs. The ILWU represented more than 42,000 longshoremen working in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. The ILA had about 65,000 members, although the number working at any given time was much smaller.

Longshoremen labor disputes dominated the maritime industry. In the past, tremendous pressure was placed on shippers by the unions due to their competitive rivalry. Faced with declining memberships, each tried to obtain higher settlements, an accomplishment that could be used to attract new union members. These continual attempts to raise wages and protect a declining number of jobs resulted in several major strikes during the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, and early 2000s.

Earnings for longshoremen remained relatively high compared to the average earnings in American industry. Wages also varied according to the kind of cargo handled. Moving distress cargo and explosives brought in double the hourly rate of general cargo. Workers handling cargo that was 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below also received a slightly higher hourly rate than those dealing with general cargo. According to the Pacific Maritime Association, in 2007 the average longshoreman on the West Coast earned $140,000 plus $48,000 in benefits. Labor accounts for about 50 percent of the costs for a terminal operator.

America and the World

Many ports throughout the world have prepared for the anticipated growth in container traffic, which is projected to increase for all of the world's major trades. Trade with Asia and Latin America has been projected to grow the fastest. Container traffic between Europe and Asia should expand at a faster rate than the U.S./Asian route. A more uncertain region was South America. Many ports located there lack planning, financing, or room for expansion. These factors, coupled with a recent trade boom, caused a shipping "bottleneck." However, North American/South American volumes were expected to continue to grow at a respectable rate. In particular, American shippers saw an end to the double-digit growth in cargo traffic to South America, due to the anticipated entry of global carriers, accompanied by fears of overcapacity and falling freight rates. Unlike the South American ports, those in the United States and Europe were well equipped to handle increased container traffic and should not require large investments. However, some observers foresaw increased competition among the European ports.

In the meantime, the labor unions geared up for the "internationalization" of shipping lines and increased containerized cargo traffic. Since both of these factors posed a formidable threat to future longshoremen employment, ILWU officials met with labor delegates from 15 Pacific Rim nations in San Francisco in April 1993 to explore the possibility of international solidarity among shipping employees. One suggested way of showing international labor support was that when one union came under attack by a particular company, other unions--through their operations with that company--would send a message of protest. "Sympathy strikes" and boycotts are generally prohibited in the United States, but other forms of protest are permitted.