The ports of New York and New Jersey, which are controlled by the International Longshoreman's Association, have become relatively less productive than the Pacific Ports, which had less restrictive work rules after ~1960.
Largely because the ILA is so much worse than the ILWU in terms of the rules it sets up, real port labor costs per ton have been consistently higher at the ports they control.
The ILA has also been more successful at warding off containerization.
The plot depicts the container share of general cargo with the start and end of the Census/Tariff Commission study (1965-73) marked.
These unions have helped to keep freight rates relatively flat despite increasing labor productivity, because the workers have successfully captured the value from containerization.
Sources:
aeaweb.org/conference/201…
freit.org/ETOS/papers/br…
Further reading: nber.org/system/files/w…
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