Port of Everett To Be Affected By West Coast Shut Down – Issues Statement

Today the Pacific Maritime Association announced they would stop the activity of loading and unloading ships at all Ports along the West Coast. That would include the Port of Everett.

Here is a press release sent to MyEverettNews.com from PMA spokesman Wade Gates…

San Francisco – February 6, 2015 – The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced today that weekend vessel loading and unloading operations will be temporarily suspended this weekend, with yard, rail and gate operations continuing at terminal operators’ discretion. In light of ongoing union slowdowns up and down the coast which have brought the ports almost to a standstill, PMA member companies finally have concluded that they will no longer continue to pay workers premium pay for diminished productivity.

“After three months of union slowdowns, it makes no sense to pay extra for less work,” said PMA spokesman Wade Gates, “especially if there is no end in sight to the union’s actions which needlessly brought West Coast ports to the brink of gridlock.”

Vessel operations are scheduled to resume Monday, February 9. Yard operations – that is, moving processed containers for truck and rail delivery to customers – will continue at terminal operators’ discretion, although the ILWU continues to limit operations by withholding the needed crane operators or operating slowly.

MyEverettNews.com reached out to the Port of Everett for their reaction and received the following from Port information Director Lisa Lefeber…

Port of Everett Seaport Status
We have experienced delays in our operations, but it hasn’t affected our sailing or delivery schedules and we have been able to meet our customer’s needs. We are aware of possible service disruptions in the coming days, and we will work with all of our customers to assist them in moving their cargo in a timely and secure manner. The Port of Everett values our relationship with our local ILWU, and we continue to be optimistic and hopeful that a contract will reached quickly.

When asked about deliveries for Boeing and other aerospace customers, Lefeber wrote MyEverettNews.com the following, “The Westwood ship in port right now is offloading aerospace parts. So far we have been able to meet our customer’s needs.”

We’ll let you know if we hear more as the Port of Everett continues to increase its role driving Everett’s economy. A long term interruption could become a real problem with all the Port of Everett has going this year.