After nine months of sometimes-contentious talks, the
Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore & Warehouse Union
have agreed in principle to the terms of a five-year contract, the two sides
said Feb. 20.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that is good
for workers and for the industry,” said PMA President James McKenna and ILWU
President Bob McEllrath in a joint statement. “We are also pleased that our
ports can now resume full operations.”
During the first month of 2015, most of the West Coast’s
major seaports reported that cargo volumes were down significantly compared to
the same month the previous year, with most blaming the decline in productivity
on the ongoing labor negotiations.
The new five-year contract covers tens of thousands of
longshore workers at all 29 West Coast ports. The deal was reached with
assistance from US Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, who joined negotiations early
last week, and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Deputy Director Scot
Beckenbaugh, who joined negotiations in January after the two sides had been
talking for eight months with no sign of a deal apparent.
The previous six-year deal expired July 1, 2014.
The new contract is subject to ratification by both the
union rank and file and well as the PMA; both sides have said they are not yet
prepared to publicly release details of the agreement.
News of the deal was greeted with a sigh of relief by
leaders at major West Coast ports, which had seen productivity decline as
negotiations became more contemptuous.
“This will go a long way toward helping to move cargo
efficiently through the nation’s busiest container port, Port of Los Angeles
Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “More than ever, we need labor and
management working together with all our stakeholders to solve today’s industry
challenges.”
“We thank the ILWU and PMA and look forward to everyone
getting back to business as usual starting immediately,” Port of Long Beach
Chief Executive Jon Slangerup said. “We know that the marine terminal
operators, longshore workers, truckers, railroads and others will be extremely
busy as they work to clear out the massive backlog of cargo at all of the West
Coast ports, including Long Beach. All of us will be working together to make
this happen as soon as possible, but once again, we are extremely pleased with
today’s news.”
At the Port of Oakland, officials said that it could take
six to eight weeks for it and other West Coast ports to recover from the cargo
backlog that built up during the dispute.
“Cargo movement should improve soon, but it will take time
to restore full productivity,” the port said in a prepared statement.
