Reference no: EM132957963
Class Assignment: Longshore Labour Dispute
The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) represents 45 distinct employers with operations on the docks of Vancouver. Together, the 45 employers control about 95% of the market share of the operations on the docks. The association bargains with the Longshore Workers Union1 over the terms and conditions of employment for five bargaining units of longshore workers. The bargaining units are:
- Stevedores
- Checkers
- Warehouse
- Yard Drivers
- Inspectors
The MEA and LWU bargain a Master Agreement which includes all five bargaining units. The Master Agreement only covers wages, benefits, and dispute resolution procedures. The parties negotiate supplemental agreements for all other terms and conditions such as seniority rights, promotions, and non-monetary matters for each of the five bargaining units.
Negotiations to renew the current collective agreement have dragged on for nearly four months. With the holidays coming up, the union is beginning to assert more pressure on the employers. The MEA claims that the union is engaged in an illegal slowdown. During peak holiday shipping times, the port of Vancouver typically handles 10,000 containers a day. For the past week, that number has dropped to just 3,200 a day. Given the time sensitivity of retailers to get the goods on store shelves for peak holiday shopping times like Black Friday, the employers face massive penalties and monetary losses as a result of the slowdown. Some estimates suggest that collectively, MEA employers lose $10,000 in revenue for every container caught up in the slowdown per day.
The employers are threatening to divert the container ships to other ports along the west coast such as Seattle and Tacoma. The employers have operations at the other ports along the west coast of the US. The LWU also represents workers at the American ports, stretching from Long Beach up to Seattle, but these ports are covered by a different US-based agreement. It is not clear whether the union could legally extend the picket lines to the other ports in the US. The Canadian division of the LWU has historically operated very independently from its US affiliates.
A main point of contention in negotiations is that the union at the American ports agreed to a new two- tiered provision for pension benefits. The Canadian division of the union has refused to consider allowing any two-tiered provisions into their collective agreement. In addition to diverting the container ships to other ports, the employer has threatened to lock out the union workers. The union claims that its strike benefit funds are sufficient to ensure that no worker could be reduced to financial bankruptcy even if a lockout lasted 8 - 10 weeks.
Your Task: Analyze the nature and dynamics of bargaining power in this case. At least 15 valid key points must be identified. Your points must outline why the fact has impact on the power of the situation.