Author Topic: Longshoremen Slowdown Hurting California Citrus  (Read 1788 times)

Millet

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Longshoremen Slowdown Hurting California Citrus
« on: February 09, 2015, 09:56:52 AM »
A labor dispute involving longshoremen that resulted in no ships being loaded and unloaded at 29 West Coast ports this past weekend is having serious consequences for the California citrus industry. Fruit is rotting on the docks, sales are being canceled by the customer, so the California Citrus industry has slowed its harvesting so as not to place matured fruit into such a marketplace. These problems stem from a work slowdown over the past three months by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. - Millet

Millet

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Re: Longshoremen Slowdown Hurting California Citrus
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2015, 10:38:01 AM »
What should be a bustling time in California citrus groves and packinghouses has ground to a halt, with pickers not harvesting much fruit and packing facilities sitting idle, due to the Longshoremen work slowdown.  Contract negotiations between West Coast dockworkers have dragged into their ninth month, and California agricultural exporters say delays at West Coast ports have gotten worse—with severe impacts to citrus growers and packers, who are at the height of their exporting season. Citrus packinghouse in Fresno County should be packing 15 to 20 shipping container loads a week for export mainly to Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea. California ports are so backed up now that not only are exporters unable to get their cargo loaded onto ships, but they also can't get their fruit back to move it to domestic markets, with containers of fruit sitting at the ports spoiling, said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual.
Millet

marklee

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Re: Longshoremen Slowdown Hurting California Citrus
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2015, 12:32:01 AM »
Ridiculous

Millet

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Re: Longshoremen Slowdown Hurting California Citrus
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2015, 11:11:25 AM »
It may take up to two months for the Port of Oakland to recover and resume a normal schedule now that operations at nearly all West Coast seaports resumed to normal on Monday. Still that’s no consolation to local citrus growers, whose exports to Asia could become almost worthless. It could take months for a tentative agreement to be approved by dockworkers, who hustled to load and unload cargo ships that were held up amid a nine month-long labor dispute. The exception was at the Port of Oakland. Port spokesman Mike Zampa said nine ships are at berth ready for cranes to move cargo, but only one ship is being worked due to a temporary shortage of experienced crane operators.

Millet ("Shortage of crane workers' - Yeah right!)

Bush2Beach

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Re: Longshoremen Slowdown Hurting California Citrus
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2015, 12:39:29 PM »
Oranges on a boat for 2 weeks are worthless unless your stuck on that boat.
I'm surprised with the decimation of Floridas citrus industry that this fruit couldn't find a closer market to be sold in. Where does Canada import it's citrus from?