In an unusual display of unity, Willie Adams, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Jim McKenna, president of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) pledged to work together to help U.S. West Coast ports regain lost market share from rival ports on the East and Gulf Coasts.
Both leaders agreed that it was vital to lobby the two West Coast rail providers, the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, to reduce the rates they charge for transporting containers to and from the West Coast ports.
Speaking before the Propeller Club of Northern California at Oakland, Willie Adams said the West Coast ports “need to make sure our voices are heard in Washington, DC… our competitors on the East and Gulf Coasts are being heard and it is costing us.”
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2020