The ILA says it is losing 400,000 labor hours, or the equivalent of 200 to 225 full-time jobs, which represents about one-third of the ILA hours annually on the Delaware River.
Del Monte typically sailed two ships a week to Camden. To keep the business, South Jersey Port offered to reduce Del Monte's annual lease from $1.4 million to $1 million; provide additional acreage at no cost, and cap Del Monte's electricity bill at $700,000 from $1.3 million last year, said spokesman Jay Jones.
Union longshoremen unloaded the Del Monte ship that docked Monday in Camden until 5 p.m., but refused to work into the evening Monday.
The ILA contends it did not put up the pickets Tuesday morning, but that members arrived to find pickets by ILA sympathizers and "community people from South Philadelphia," said Local 1291 president Boise Butler.
The ILA joined the picket line, Butler said, as did ILA members from Charleston, S.C. and Wilmington, Del. There were also pickets outside Gloucester Terminals, a mile south on the Delaware River.
Del Monte moved its ship during the morning to Gloucester City, where workers began unloading.
Several drivers for Tricont Trucking, members of Teamsters Local 107, parked their trucks outside the Gloucester gates and refused to drive past pickets.
Gloucester Terminals spokesman Walter Curran said the drivers did report to work later. "Del Monte told us they did come to work up there, and they have been coming in consistently here."
Del Monte terminal manager, Ernie Casper, had no comment.
In a statement, Gloucester Terminals said the ILA work stoppage had risked $10 million worth of perishable cargo. It said Del Monte's decision to relocate was "primarily" due to outgrowing the Camden terminal, which has refrigerated cargo capacity for just under 10,000 pallets, whereas Gloucester can accommodate more than 40,000.
