PASCO: A bill setting up automatic triggers to start the Taft-Hartley Act process in the event of future labor or management disruptions at US ports is being proposed by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.
Newhouse announced his Ensuring Continued Operations and No Other Major Incidents, Closures or Slowdowns (ECONOMICS) Act at Easterday Farms in Pasco on Oct. 5. Easterday, a family potato farm and packing operation, is one of thousands of farms throughout the West that were impacted by the slowdown of cargo at 29 West Coast ports from May 2014 through February 2015.
It was caused by contentious contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Newhouse was joined for his announcement by Washington Farm Bureau President Mike LaPlant and Matt Harris, assistant executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission.
The bill would mandate mediation in labor disputes and require a board of inquiry be convened when certain economic triggers are met. The board would be required to report to the president and the public to recommend whether a Taft-Hartley judicial injunction should be sought to order an end to a dispute. The president or state governors would still have to seek the injunction.
Shipping activity at Port Qasim on February 11
KARACHI: Three ships namely, Glen Canyon, Al-Salam- II and TSM Pollux carrying Containers, Gas oil and Palm oil were arranged...
