© Reuters. A man works as a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) removing tents and strike signs from a picket line outside the dispatch room in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 13, 2023. REUTERS /Chris Helgren/Ph File
(Reuters) – The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents U.S. dockworkers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to resolve pending litigation with the Oregon subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI). ).
The union has listed its assets and liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million, according to the Sept. 30 filing filed in a San Francisco court.
“While we have attempted on numerous occasions to resolve the decade-long litigation with ICTSI Oregon, at this point, the Union can no longer afford to defend itself against ICTSI’s scorched earth litigation tactic,” said ILWU International President , Willie Adams.
“We intend to use the chapter 11 process to implement a plan that resolves this matter and ensures that our Union continues to do its important work for our members and the community,” he added.
ICTSI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The union faces an imminent trial over allegations that it illegally slowed operations for several years at the Port of Portland, then operated by a subsidiary of a Philippine-based shipping company, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The ILWU, which has more than 4,000 members in the United States and Canada, said it will file the usual “day one” motions with the court to maintain its cash management system as part of its reorganization process.
In August, the union ratified a six-year contract for American longshore workers that improved wages and benefits for 22,000 employees at 29 ports stretching from California to Washington state.
