West Coast dock workers reach contract agreement with port operators
After a year of contract negotiations that resulted in numerous delays and a drop in cargo traffic in ports along the west coast, union dockers and port operators have reached a tentative agreement that will last six years.
In a joint statement released late Wednesday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association announced a preliminary agreement on a new contract for 22,000 workers in 29 ports from San Diego to Seattle, some of the busiest in the world.
Details of the agreement, which is expected to be formally ratified by both sides, were not immediately released.
President Biden, who stepped in last year to push for a speedy resolution, released a statement congratulating both sides for reaching an agreement “after long and sometimes acrimonious negotiations.”
“As I have always said, collective bargaining works,” Biden said. “I especially congratulate the longshoremen, who have served heroically during the pandemic and the myriad challenges it has posed, and who will finally get the pay, benefits and quality of life they deserve.”
Mr Biden also thanked Acting US Secretary of Labor Julie Su for helping to close the deal.
The result on Wednesday somewhat mirrored previous negotiations between the two sides. In 2015, as negotiations dragged on for nine months, Obama administration officials intervened amid work delays and increased congestion at ports.
Protracted negotiations between the union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the shipping terminals, centered on disagreements over wages and the growing role of automation.
In recent weeks, the Longshore and Warehouse Union, or the ILWU, has stepped up a series of work delays at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which have lost significant business to ports along the Gulf and East Coast in recent months. Cargo throughput at the Port of Los Angeles, a major entry point for shipments from Asia, was down about 40 percent in February compared to the year before.
Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter to Mr Biden urging the administration to immediately intervene in the negotiations and appoint an independent mediator to help the two sides reach an agreement.
Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation, said the ongoing delays and disruptions have negatively impacted retailers and other stakeholders who rely on West Coast ports for their operations.
“As we enter the all-important holiday shipping season, retailers need a seamless flow of containers through the ports and to their distribution centers,” said Mr. Shay.
On Wednesday, Port of Los Angeles chief Gene Seroka said in a statement that the preliminary agreement between the ILWU and Pacific Maritime “brings the stability and confidence customers have been looking for.”
Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, a trade group for trucking companies serving West Coast ports, said his organization is keen to see truck traffic return to normal soon.
“We need the certainty,” he said. “This has been a long, difficult process.”