Economy
January 3, 2016
Labor Big Issue During 2015
Written by Sandy Williams
Last year was a major year for labor contracts that affected the steel industry. After months of slowdowns and contentious negotiations on the West Coast in 2014, the PMA/ILWU finally ratified a contract in May of 2015. The labor dispute caused delay of steel shipments and other products, congestion on the docks, and shifted some imports from West Coast ports to the East Coast.
Spring 2015 also saw ratification of collective bargaining agreements for the oil industry. Strikes in the industry exacerbated already dismal market conditions in the energy sector. A global glut of oil and severely depressed pricing led to a decline in oil rig count, layoffs in the oil industry and idling of OCTG production in the steel industry.
