West Coast port strike

[Ineke]

We heard in a news report this morning that there is a port strike on the U.S. West coast. Never a good thing for the economy, but besides that, how might that affect a cruise departing from San Diego? Hopefully for everyone it will all be settled soon, but just in case? We leave March 7.

[DAllenTCY]

The strike has not affected any cruise departures yet.

David

[Ineke]

Thank you!

[chengkp75]

The labor problem has been going on for some time, and the slow down for a couple of weeks or more. From a trade news article I saw, the ILWU longshoremen have "exempted" the cruise ships and Jones Act shipping from the slow down.

[igraf]

Perhaps some of us should reconsider when badmouthing the west coast longshoremen. Such badmouthing often comes up when discussing the Port of San Diego.

 

igraf

 

 

 

The labor problem has been going on for some time, and the slow down for a couple of weeks or more. From a trade news article I saw, the ILWU longshoremen have "exempted" the cruise ships and Jones Act shipping from the slow down.

[Fargo55]

I beg to differ but we departed from SF in Dec and we were over 7 hours late because the dock workers walked off. This wasn't the worst of it, they were demanding 20 dollar a bag from people arriving to board. Luggage was left in the rain and some was dumped in the bay and not recovered. We got our luggage after one oclock in the morning and one bag was soaked. We were never informed as to the problem until later and we will not be cruising from California anytime soon.

[wizard-of-roz]

Very sad to hear. Do you think by the farthest stretch of your imagination that these dock worker strikes don't happen at other ports other than the ones in California. They do and it can happen any time at any port.

 

The more they can disrupt the general population the better it is for negotiations.

[sail7seas]

I beg to differ but we departed from SF in Dec and we were over 7 hours late because the dock workers walked off. This wasn't the worst of it, they were demanding 20 dollar a bag from people arriving to board. Luggage was left in the rain and some was dumped in the bay and not recovered. We got our luggage after one oclock in the morning and one bag was soaked. We were never informed as to the problem until later and we will not be cruising from California anytime soon.

 

Oh my, that's awful.

[chengkp75]

Perhaps some of us should reconsider when badmouthing the west coast longshoremen. Such badmouthing often comes up when discussing the Port of San Diego.

 

igraf

 

What I didn't add is why the "exemption". The Jones Act ships are manned by the US union brothers and sisters of the longshoremen, so they want the support. The cruise ships are exempted because it would be bad PR, and the number of jobs in both categories is so small compared to the number of guys working the container piers. It's not for any love of the cruising public.

Edited February 19, 2015 by chengkp75

[PirateShark]

What I didn't add is why the "exemption". The Jones Act ships are manned by the US union brothers and sisters of the longshoremen, so they want the support. The cruise ships are exempted because it would be bad PR, and the number of jobs in both categories is so small compared to the number of guys working the container piers. It's not for any love of the cruising public.

 

Exactly. Containers of oranges and almonds, being shipped to China, and delayed days or months has potential for greater economic "impact" than one cruise a week out of San Francisco.

Edited February 19, 2015 by PirateShark

[chengkp75]

Exactly. Containers of oranges and almonds, being shipped to China, and delayed days or months has potential for greater economic "impact" than one cruise a week out of San Francisco.

 

While delay of perishable items is certainly important, by far more important to the US economy is the vastly larger amounts of imports, both perishable and durable goods. As I've said, business today operates on a "just in time" inventory model, where the supply of parts and subcomponents needed to make something is kept so low (it costs money to invest in parts and then keep them on a shelf in the storeroom) that any delay in delivery from the supplier will halt production. This can have a domino effect on the US economy.

[igraf]

I have limited sympathy for companies that rely on cheap imports. I used to work in manufacturing, and I can tell you stories about how upper management would get rid of US workers just to save a very small amount of money per item. It is a myth that we need cheap imports to survive.

 

The domino effect is when there is no more middle class because we import everything.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

While delay of perishable items is certainly important, by far more important to the US economy is the vastly larger amounts of imports, both perishable and durable goods. As I've said, business today operates on a "just in time" inventory model, where the supply of parts and subcomponents needed to make something is kept so low (it costs money to invest in parts and then keep them on a shelf in the storeroom) that any delay in delivery from the supplier will halt production. This can have a domino effect on the US economy.

[chengkp75]

I have limited sympathy for companies that rely on cheap imports. I used to work in manufacturing, and I can tell you stories about how upper management would get rid of US workers just to save a very small amount of money per item. It is a myth that we need cheap imports to survive.

 

The domino effect is when there is no more middle class because we import everything.

 

igraf

 

Regardless, it is a fact of life today.

[Blue Mudshark]

... some was dumped in the bay and not recovered.

 

Is there any first-hand evidence of this?

 

Wet luggage is not evidence that anything was dumped in the sea (as you said, luggage was out in the rain), and lost luggage is not evidence that anything was dumped and not recovered. I'm not convinced.

[Blue Mudshark]

We heard in a news report this morning that there is a port strike on the U.S. West coast. Never a good thing for the economy, but besides that, how might that affect a cruise departing from San Diego? Hopefully for everyone it will all be settled soon, but just in case? We leave March 7.

 

I'm not sure where you got that from, but to clarify, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is not on strike, and hasn't been on strike in many years (although they have honored other unions' picket lines, and they have been locked out by management). The union and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) are in contentious negotiations, and they are each pointing the finger of blame at each other for the slow cargo movement in West Coast ports. PMA says that ILWU unions are engaged in a work slowdown. ILWU says that PMA is reducing the workers' hours, and not allowing enough trucks onsite to properly move the amount of cargo being shipped.

 

But there is no strike.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Blue Mudshark

[RDC1]

Is there any first-hand evidence of this?

 

Wet luggage is not evidence that anything was dumped in the sea (as you said, luggage was out in the rain), and lost luggage is not evidence that anything was dumped and not recovered. I'm not convinced.

 

Discussion of the event here, started by someone trying to get reimbursed for damage to his luggage when it went into the bay.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2134773

[Blue Mudshark]

Discussion of the event here, started by someone trying to get reimbursed for damage to his luggage when it went into the bay.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2134773

 

But, again, there is no evidence of anything going into the bay. "The contents were so wet they surely went to the bottom of the harbor before they were retrieved."

 

So the luggage was wet, and the trip "to the bottom of the harbor" was just a assumption. And whether it went into the drink or not, no evidence of it not being retrieved. Tall tales have a way of expanding.

[Blue Mudshark]

OK, I stand corrected. Although it's all second and third hand, there are reports of eyewitnesses actually seeing the luggage go in the water, and of Passenger Services acknowledging it.

 

But still, nothing about bags never being retrieved, or any connection with an imaginary strike that is not happening.

[threeedogmedia]

Looks like this is another one of those "don't touch" topics along with Smoking or Dress Code. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but that doesn't mean we have to like any of them. I'll keep my opinions to myself on this and just wish all of you a good cruise.

[CptSticky]

OK, I stand corrected. Although it's all second and third hand, there are reports of eyewitnesses actually seeing the luggage go in the water, and of Passenger Services acknowledging it.

 

But still, nothing about bags never being retrieved, or any connection with an imaginary strike that is not happening.

I have noticed more than the usual number of threads the past few months about luggage going into the harbor and although this does not give me a statistical number that I can quote it has been catching my attention. That is why I'm reading this thread, I've started to look for them now that they have caught my attention. I know this has happened on and off for years (my brother once saw his luggage get dumped) but it seems like it's more common now for some reason. I'm not saying it's the labor action, but the thought has crossed my mind.

As a side note, as a member of the Farm Bureau here in California I've been reading about the packing houses being idled due to the port backlog. Fruit that was already shipped and is stuck in containers will be lost. There is not sufficient labor at the port to find and un stack the containers and divert them to another port in time.

[RDC1]

OK, I stand corrected. Although it's all second and third hand, there are reports of eyewitnesses actually seeing the luggage go in the water, and of Passenger Services acknowledging it.

 

But still, nothing about bags never being retrieved, or any connection with an imaginary strike that is not happening.

 

The person that started that thread posted explicitly about his bags going into the water. It also discusses in depth about the ship not leaving until 11pm (instead of the normal 5pm) because of dock workers walking off and delaying loading the ship.

 

It is not a strike, it is a work slow down. Or another way it is often put is working as defined in the contract. Such as Oakland workers deciding to have their monthly full day meeting during normal work hours, instead of after hours like they normally do. It is allowed under the contract, but not normal process.

Edited February 19, 2015 by RDC1