By Lisa Baertlein and David Shepardson
LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. business groups on Thursday said a “hard-fought” six-year labor deal tentatively agreed between U.S. West Coast seaport employers and the union representing 22,000 workers should avoid economic harm and urged both sides to ratify it quickly.
The tentative deal was announced on Wednesday and followed an intervention from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, despatched by President Joe Biden on Sunday as tensions flared in the ports.
The agreement included a 32% pay increase through 2028 as well as a share in a one-time “hero” bonus of $70 million, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the talks. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) employer group declined comment.
West Coast ports handle about 40% of U.S. container import volume and a successful labor agreement could be a win for Biden, who has vowed to reduce inflation fueled by supply chains that are still recovering from COVID-19 pandemic disruption.
“This hard-fought agreement … prevents a widespread work stoppage and significant economic harm,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark said in a statement.
Retailers like Walmart and Target are starting to land merchandise for the critical back-to-school, Halloween and Christmas retail shopping seasons. Manufacturers, automakers and food producers which import or export goods also rely on the West Coast ports.
National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay on Thursday expressed relief on behalf of the industry group’s members.
“We urge the parties to quickly ratify the tentative agreement to bring certainty back to the West Coast ports,” Shay said.
The union ratification process typically takes about three months.
Many of the ports’ customers shifted a portion of their cargo to ocean trade gateways on the East Coast and Gulf Coast to avoid potential slowdowns from the Pacific Coast labor talks.
After arriving in San Francisco late on Sunday, Acting Secretary Su helped to negotiate a truce between the ILWU and PMA after worker absences and port terminal closures slowed or paused port cargo flows at terminals in Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland and Seattle.
After 72 hours, the ILWU and PMA hammered out a deal and credited Su with assisting in the efforts.
“They were clear-eyed about what was at stake and they stayed at it,” Su said before boarding a plane back to Washington.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Barbara Lewis, Grant McCool and Deepa Babington)
