The agreement on both sides of a labour dispute between workers at West Coast ports and port operators to use a federal mediator has brought hope that the issue can be resolved. The dispute, which began last summer, has delayed loading and unloading times across major sea ports along the West Coast.“This is good because both sides requested the mediator,” said Lynette Keffer, CEO of J&K Fresh, a fresh fruit importer in Los Angeles. “Both sides were willing to talk, but without mediation we didn't know when this was going to end. At least now they have someone in the middle, which has been successful resolving disputes in the past.”
Keffer says the impasse has reached a critical time of year for fresh produce importers, as winter fruit from South America usually makes its way into the United States through ports in Southern California. But this year, citing fears that fruit would be delayed going through ports on the West Coast, many shippers opted to send their fruit to East Coast ports and truck the produce west.
“Even though it's more expensive to go through Miami and truck the fruit here, people wanted to make sure it didn't get stuck on the ports,” said Keffer. She added that, while fresh produce has been getting some priority because it's perishable, the threat of wasted shipments was too great for some.
While the presence of a federal mediator brings some hope, those that have to go through the ports are all too aware that nothing is resolved yet.
“We've learned to work through the system and the slowdown,” said Randy Steensma of Honey Bear Tree Fruit Company in Washington State. “But it's very difficult to export fruit. The whole West Coast is a mess.”