The New York Harbor government watchdog and unionized dock workers were trapped in a standoff as hiring negotiations broke down recently.
The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor is the bi-state body tasked with keeping the shipping industry in the area in line.
A proposal from the commission to introduce shifting work hours to free up the congestion in the East Coast’s busiest port has ruffled the feathers of unionized dock workers.
It has also prompted the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and trade organization, New York Shipping Association (NYSA) to petition federal courts to defang the commission.
There are currently two pending bills in the New Jersey legislature that, if passed, could effectively dissolve the commission.
The commission and the union have been at odds for decades, locked in a tug-of-war over hiring practices in the New York Harbor.
The impasse is affecting retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers with worsening congestion in the port, which could have been relieved with the hiring of more dock workers.
The port will need as many as 200 additional longshoremen by early next year, NYSA and the union said. Shipping operators feel the commission is overstepping its boundaries by dictating the work conditions and terms of hiring of port workers.
