The labor union representing 22,000 US West Coast dockworkers in contract-renewal talks said it has reached a tentative agreement with their employers on “certain key issues,” and that negotiations will continue until they reach a definitive pact.
(Bloomberg) — The labor union representing 22,000 US West Coast dockworkers in contract-renewal talks said it has reached a tentative agreement with their employers on “certain key issues,” and that negotiations will continue until they reach a definitive pact.
Talks have stretched on for months between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association — representing about 70 ocean carriers and terminal operators — over a new labor contract to replace one that expired July 1.
The ILWU and PMA meet regularly in San Francisco for negotiations and “are committed to reaching an agreement,” the ILWU said in a statement Thursday morning.
“While significant progress has been achieved in coastwise contract negotiations, several key issues remain unresolved,” the PMA said in a separate statement Thursday afternoon.
The PMA also said that the disruptions led by ILWU Local 13, the union’s local chapter, continued Thursday at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. “The Union is deliberately conducting inspections that are not routine, unscheduled, and done in a way that disrupt terminal operations,” the group said.
Inbound cargo volumes have declined at all US ports since the fourth quarter of last year, but West Coast operations have seen a bigger drop-off as importers seek to avoid a repeat of pandemic-era delays and potential disruptions related to the protracted labor-contract talks.
In late July, the parties said they’d reached a tentative agreement on health benefits and in February issued a joint statement saying they were hopeful they’d come to an agreement soon.
While work has continued largely as normal at the 29 ports from California to Washington since the contract expired, there have been several issues reported at the San Pedro Bay ports in recent weeks, including delays caused by dockworkers not staggering lunch breaks and late arrival of labor due to dispatch delays.
Local 13 has not returned a request for comment.
(Adds statement from the PMA in fourth, fifth paragraphs)
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