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International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association reach a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, more than a year of tense talks and easing strike fears
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ILWU and PMA announced the deal, brokered by US Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, in a statement issued on Wednesday night, but they gave no details
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US government officials led by President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, praising Su’s “deep experience and judgment to keep the parties talking”
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Su said the deal “delivers important stability for workers, for employers and for our country’s supply chain”
Stability returned to US West Coast ports on Wednesday, June 14, after the port workers’ union and employers clinched a deal on a new six-year contract, ending 13 months of tense negotiations and easing worries about supply chain disruptions.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s (ILWU) Coast Longshore Division and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents dozens of terminal operators and ocean carriers, issued a joint statement Wednesday night, June 14, announcing the deal.
The agreement was reached with assistance from Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su, who US President Joe Biden sent to the negotiations in San Francisco earlier this week to help both sides reach a deal and avert a likely strike on ports along the West Coast from up north in Canada down to San Pedro Bay in California, CNBC reported.
Biden acknowledged Su’s role in reaching the deal, saying she “used her deep experience and judgment to keep the parties talking, working with them to reach an agreement after a long and sometimes acrimonious negotiation.”
“The tentative agreement delivers important stability for workers, for employers and for our country’s supply chain,” Su said in a statement on Wednesday.
The two sides had been negotiating since May 2022. Last week, several major ports – including the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland – experienced shutdowns due to work disruptions as the talks dragged on.
Hours before the agreement, unionized port workers in Canada authorized a strike in a near-unanimous vote, adding to brewing labor tensions affecting the West Coast ports, The Washington Post reported.
More than 99% of ILWU Canada members who cast ballots endorsed a strike, according to results released Monday night. The move, which comes after months of deliberation between the union and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association mediated by the Canadian government, means the union’s 7,200 dockworkers could walk out as soon as June 24.
Wednesday’s agreement, covering workers at ports stretching from California to Washington State, is subject to ratification by both parties. The ILWU and PMA declined to provide details on the deal.
PMA president James McKenna and ILWU international president Willie Adams said in a joint statement: “We are also pleased to turn our full attention back to the operation of the West Coast ports.”
Workers covered by the agreement are based at some of the nation’s busiest seaports, including Los Angeles/Long Beach – the busiest ocean trade gateway in the United States. They have been working without a contract since July 1 last year and have been seeking a share of pandemic cargo surge profits and retroactive pay.
The tentative deal comes as retailers like Walmart and Target are starting to land merchandise for the critical back-to-school, Halloween and Christmas retail shopping seasons. Manufacturers, carmakers and food producers who import or export goods also rely on the Pacific Coast ports, Reuters reported.
In Los Angeles, government and port officials led by Mayor Karen Bass greeted the tentative deal reached by ILWU and PMA with relief.
“The news of a tentative agreement between the ILWU and the PMA should be welcomed by every Angeleño and every American. This is a win for the working people of our City – and I want to give special recognition to acting US Secretary of Labor Julie Su, president of ILWU Local 13 Gary Herrera and Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka,” Bass said in a statement.
“About 40% of West Coast imports come through the Port of Los Angeles, which generates 1 in 15 jobs here in Los Angeles. Thank you to the dockworkers and terminal operators who continue to make our Port go – know that we will continue to do all we can to ensure it continues to prosper.”
Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker said he was thrilled at the news about the agreement.
“Recent history teaches us the importance of our supply chain, and the dockworkers of the San Pedro Bay complex are the best in the business. A final agreement is great for our workers, for union strength, the city of Los Angeles, and our country’s economy,” McOsker said.
Seroka, who on Tuesday announced that Port of LA throughput in May increased to 779,140 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the third month of growth in a row, said in a statement the deal “brings the stability and confidence that customers have been seeking.”
Seroka thanked Su, Adams and McKenna for their leadership and resolve.
“We look forward to collaborating with our partners in a renewed effort to bring back cargo and demonstrate why Los Angeles is the first choice for Trans-Pacific trade,” Seroka said.
