WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal mediators seeking to avoid a walkout of thousands of East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers from Massachusetts to Texas have called a meeting of them and shipping companies.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said Monday that Director George Cohen called the meeting of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance before Saturday’s expiration of the dockworkers’ contract extension.
Talks between the dockworkers and the shipping companies broke down Dec. 18. Issues including wages are unresolved, but the key sticking point is container royalties, which are payments to union workers based on cargo weight.
Port operators and shipping companies, represented by the Marine Alliance, want to cap the royalties at last year’s levels. They contend the royalties have morphed into a huge expense unrelated to their original purpose and amount to a bonus averaging $15,500 a year for East Coast workers already earning more than $50 an hour.
The union represents 14,500 workers at more than a dozen ports.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 12/26/2012