Longshore Contract Talks Go Past Deadline
The six-year contract between West Coast dock workers and their bosses expired on July 1, with negotiations on a new contract continuing amid choppy waters.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and terminals operators, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, encompassing 26,000 workers at 29 West Coast ports, have been at the bargaining table since March 17.
In mid-June, the two sides hammered out the health-benefit portion of the new contract. Now several other issues—such as longer work days, technology and wages—are being discussed in San Francisco, where the two organizations are headquartered.
The climate around the negotiations has been much more amicable than in 2002, when longshore workers staged a work slowdown that led to port companies locking out workers for 10 days in late September and early October during the prime apparel shipping season.
While the two sides agreed to remain at the bargaining table, the shipping lines and port companies wanted to extend the ILWU contract by several days. The extension would have carried a no-strike clause and guaranteed that there wouldn’t be any work slowdowns on the docks. However, the ILWU rejected that idea, disappointing shipping companies, which fear a repeat of 2002.
“There is no system in place against [work] disruptions as the talks proceed,” said Steve Getzug, a spokesperson for the PMA. “In the past with the ILWU, and as recently as 2002, what they say and what they do can be a different thing.”
ILWU spokesperson Craig Merrilees noted that both sides have pledged to continue negotiations and get the job done. He wouldn’t go into any details about what issues were causing a delay in a new contract. But he noted that longshore workers were particularly worried about safety. “The union members are concerned about the exceptionally high fatality rate. During the past six-year contract, 17 workers were killed.”
Merrilees said the new contract’s health benefits are similar to those in the old contract, which has longshore workers paying no monthly health-benefit fees and very little for prescriptions.
The PMA said it remains focused on reaching a new agreement that is fair and reasonable to both sides while keeping the ports running smoothly. —Deborah Belgum
