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National Retail Federation letter pleads for west coast labour accord

FAILURE to reach an agreement by west coast waterfront management an labour is damaging port operations and contributing to congestion, says the US National Retail Federation (NRF).

In a letter to the leaders of the employers group, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), retail NRF president and CEO Matt Shay said:

"Whether intentional or not, the fact that neither the PMA nor ILWU has made any public progress report in more than a month is sending a very troublesome and disconcerting signal.

"We urge the parties to quickly come to a conclusion on a new labour agreement as a means to resolve the ongoing congestion issues impacting the west coast ports," he said.

"At a minimum, we ask that the parties extend the expired contract through November in order to reinstate arbitration agreements, which are preventing many issues at the ports from being addressed, said Mr Shay.

"Retailers are now in the midst of their heaviest shipping season of the year preparing for the upcoming holidays, which are a 憁ake it or break it?time for merchants," he said

Mr Shay said retailers were instituting costly contingency plans in early 2014 to ensure that merchandise would reach stores in time for the critical holiday shopping season.

Finalisng a new contract is an "absolutely critical component" to working through the backlog of shipping containers now piling up, he said.

"We are deeply troubled by the fact that no apparent progress has been made in the negotiations since August, when the PMA and ILWU announced a 'tentative deal' on health benefits," said Mr Shay.