Longshore union will lose credibility if it rejects Kitzhaber's request!!

One has to wonder when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will run out of explanations for the slow pace of work at the Port of Portland – and how many people will be hurt before that happens. The union has taken new credibility hits in the past two weeks. First, The Oregonian’s Richard Read reported details of the union’s contract with the Pacific Maritime Association, which stipulates that some senior union members are paid by employers even when they don’t work. The provision has been applied during lockouts imposed by United Grain Corp. in a dispute at some Northwest grain terminals. Where does all of this leave the Port? Not in a good place. Kitzhaber and Wyatt are running out of options. If the ILWU doesn’t like the results of the Kitzhaber-ordered review, it has signaled its intention to claim the review is biased. The Port has established an incentive program, based on number of containers shipped through Portland, to try to entice container carriers to continue using the Port, but there’s little else it can do.
www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/longs...river

Port exit may mean costly shipping for Oregon firms!!

A major shipping company’s decision to withdraw from the Port of Portland by January 2014 means local exporters will face higher transportation costs to move their products overseas, including processed foods and timber. South Korea-based Hanjin Shipping Co. announced Oct. 18 it will no longer carry containers out of Portland’s Terminal 6 due to rising handling charges and sagging longshore labor productivity. Value-added agricultural products like processed potatoes and onions are all shipped by container. If Hanjin leaves, Eastern Oregon exporters would have to pay more to truck containers to Seattle or Tacoma, which cost between $500 and $1,000 per container the last time ships were diverted in summer 2012."(Hanjin) is a significant loss to ports on the Columbia and Snake river systems,” River. Kim B. Puzey, general manager at the Port of Umatilla said."We are down to very little service now, almost nonexistent compared to what we had. Everyone here is having to make transportation adjustments that are significant to their bottom line.”
www.statesmanjournal.com/viewart/20131028/NEWS/310...firms