Port clerks working at the APM Terminals-operated Pier 400 went on strike at noon yesterday.
The clerks are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's (OCU), which represents about 800 clerks at local port terminals.
About 67 workers set up a picket line and longshoremen at Pier 400 refused to cross it, shutting down the terminal.
At almost 200ha, it is the biggest and busiest cargo terminal in the Americas for containerised freight.
The OCU and harbour employers have been negotiating for more than two years over wages, benefits and job security.
Contract talks have broken off several times, but both sides eventually sat down to try to hammer out an agreement.
They may return to the bargaining table this time as well, said union officials, whose major grievance was the fear that management was trying to outsource jobs to non-union labour.
"We've been meeting with the companies for more than two years, but they're still concealing their outsourcing -- even when they've been caught red-handed." said Local 63 Office Clerical Unit President John Fageaux. |
