Federal Labor Law News

West Coast port employers and the union representing 22,000 workers have "overcome some sticking points" in tense labor talks that have entered their 13th month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su is in San Francisco, where negotiations have been taking place, "meeting with all parties encouraging them to reach a resolution," Jean-Pierre said, adding that Su "has invaluable expertise working closely with these parties."Business groups are pressuring U.S.

For the second time in ten weeks, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has affirmed the decision of an administrative law judge that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU International) and ILWU Local 8 (Local 8) violated federal labor law by engaging in coercive activity directed against ICTSI Oregon, Inc. at Terminal 6 at the Port of Portland. The NLRB concluded that, between September 2012 and June 2013, ILWU members worked in a deliberately slow manner and otherwise interfered with productivity at Terminal 6 and that the ILWU International and Local 8 were responsible for this illegal conduct. According to Elvis Ganda, President and CEO of ICTSI Oregon, “The importance of this ruling should not be underestimated.

Reuters – Brazil 's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA could face new production stoppages on platforms in the Campos Basin if it does not resolve lingering safety issues, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday. The company, best known as Petrobras, has improved safety standards in its offshore fields in the last two years but needs to improve "a lot"," a federal labor-law prosecutor, Mauricio Coentro, told the newspaper. If continuing problems are not resolved, platform shutdowns may be necessary, he added.

Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA could face new production stoppages on platforms in the Campos Basin if it does not resolve lingering safety issues, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday. The company, best known as Petrobras, has improved safety standards in its offshore fields in the last two years but needs to improve "a lot"," a federal labor-law prosecutor, Mauricio Coentro, told the newspaper. If continuing problems are not resolved, platform shutdowns may be necessary, he added. The paper said there have been eight accidents since November in the Campos Basin, located east and northeast of Rio de Janeiro, where Brazil gets 80 percent of its 2.11 million barrels per day of oil output.

The  International Longshore & Warehouse Union ILWU file a federal lawsuit against the Port of Portland & Bill Wyatt, its Executive Director. The ILWU filed a federal lawsuit against the Port of Portland and Bill Wyatt, its Executive Director, for unlawfully gifting nearly $5-million in public funds to a private Philippines-based company, ICTSI Oregon, Inc., and tens of thousands more to ocean carriers. The ILWU lawsuit seeks an injunction against the expenditures and demands that the illegally granted funds remain in public hands. “The Port violated the trust of local taxpayers when it gave $4.7 million in public funds to a private company that made $135 million in profits last year and whose CEO is worth $3.6 billion…

MEBA accuses operator of creating labor dispute and delaying important cargoes. AMO enters into new collective bargaining agreement with Liberty. On Monday, Liberty Maritime Corporation announced that it had entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union under which the AMO will provide U.S. citizen licensed deck officers and engineers to Liberty Maritime for the operation of five U.S.-flag dry bulk carriers effective October 1, 2011. Previously subject to a collective bargaining agreement with Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, District No. 1-PCD (MEBA), that contract expired on September 30, 2011. According to a prepared Liberty statement, MEBA will continue to provide deck officers and engineers on the three U.S.

Liberty Maritime Corporation (Liberty Maritime) of Lake Success, New York today announced that it has entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union under which the AMO will provide U.S. citizen licensed deck officers and engineers to Liberty Maritime for the operation of five U.S.-flag dry bulk carriers effective October 1, 2011. Those vessels had previously been subject to a collective bargaining agreement between Liberty Maritime and the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, District No. 1-PCD (MEBA), which expired September 30, 2011.