The fine was handed down after the Court reviewed the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLR) legal costs following a December 2014 judgement. In that ruling the Court found that the “agents and officers” of the ILWU and ILWU Local 8 directed and engaged in various work stoppages and slow downs including “driving the “scenic route” around the yard, engaging in pretextual safety complaints, and deliberately operating cranes more slowly” in contravention of a posted Court injunction notice to cease this behaviour. 

The ILWU was not found to be in breach on every point argued by the NLR. In particular the Court found that there was no evidence that members of ILWU Local 40 (marine clerks) were in breach of its orders in the specific periods in question. 

Some of the alleged slowdowns occurred after 1 July 2014, when the ILWU/PMA contract had expired. In other cases the NLR was not able to convince the Court slowdowns were specifically related to the dispute over ICTSI refusing to give the ILWU jurisdiction over two reefer jobs, and not part of the wider dispute the west coast has just endured.

The case is an interesting window into labour relations on the west coast waterfront. Though carriers ultimately provide jobs at Portland’s container terminal, the ILWU, it appears, would rather see them leave than give in over two reefer mechanic positions. The Court said “There is direct evidence from May and June 2012 that ILWU and Local 8 agents and officers specifically threatened to engage in coordinated acts to shut down ICTSI, drive Hanjin out of the Port, and otherwise attempt to force the Port to assign the reefer work to ILWU members”. 

The West Coast labour paradigm is such, however, that this was not actually the issue before the Court. Rather the case was about whether conduct at specific times constituted a slowdown in violation of a previous injunction. Though it found against the ILWU and Local 8, the Court declined to impose the “prospective fines schedule” the NLR sought. Instead it ordered a range of notices to be sent to ILWU members and posted in hiring halls, including requiring Local 8 executives to sign and post “notices of contempt and adjudication” and a “clear written directive” to refrain from such action again, plus pay the costs mentioned above.