Longshore union, employers reach labor deal, ending 13 months of West Coast tensions

The West Coast longshore union and its employers have agreed to a tentative six-year contract, ending 13 months of negotiations that saw tensions rise in recent weeks, as well as accusations and recriminations about bad-faith actions, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fretting about lost business.

The two sides announced the deal on Wednesday evening, June 14.

Gary Herrera, president of the union’s local chapter, confirmed the deal.

The deal, which would apply to 22,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports, still needs to be ratified by longshore union members, Herrera said. It’s unknown when a ratification vote would occur.

The union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers, said in a joint press release Wednesday that they would not release contract deals at this time.

But the announcement came a day after the Journal of Commerce, a trade publication that covers ports, reported PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union had agreed to a “cooling off period” after weeks of increasing uneasiness over the talks. Julie Su, the Biden administration’s acting labor secretary — and the nominee to take that post permanently — arrived in San Francisco on Monday to help facilitate the apparently fraught talks.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce in keeping our ports operating,” PMA President James McKenna and ILWU 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.”

The joint statement also thanked Su for facilitating the negotiations. Su, in a statement, thanked both sides for their perseverance in reaching a tentative deal.

“The tentative agreement delivers important stability for workers, for employers and for our country’s supply chain,” Su said. “This important milestone is welcome news to all, and on behalf of President Biden, we are pleased to congratulate both parties on what they have achieved.”

Contract negotiations began in May 2022 and the ILWU’s previous labor contract expired in July of that year. Dockworkers have worked without a current contract since then.

There hasn’t been a longhore strike on the West Coast since the 1970s and officials up and down the West Coast, including those for ILWU and PMA, repeatedly said there wouldn’t be one this time.

And over the last 13 months, there were moments of optimism that a deal was imminent.

The union and PMA, for example, announced last summer that they had reached a tentative agreement on terms for health benefits. In February, both parties said they remained hopeful of reaching a deal soon.

And then in April, the union announced that a “tentative agreement” had been reached on some unspecified key issues.

But that same month, PMA said key issues remained unresolved.

Around that time, allegations surfaced that some terminal operations were being disrupted by job actions, which the union denied.

The main dispute had been over wages.

As the talks lingered, tensions rose — and nerves set in.

In recent months, PMA accused ILWU multiple times of disrupting terminal operations along the West Coast, including at the San Pedro Bay complex, historially home to the two busiest ports in the nation.

“Union leaders are implementing many familiar disruption tactics from their job action playbook,” PMA said in a statement earlier this month, “including refusing to dispatch workers to marine terminals, slowing operations, and making unfounded health and safety claims.”

Then, on June 10, PMA blamed “coordinated and disruptive work actions” for the Port of Seattle halting operations.

ILWU denied each accusation, though officials from multiple ports, as well as the trucking and retail industries, confirmed many of them. ILWU also said negotiators would continue fighting for a good deal, especially after dockworkers endured long hours during the coronavirus pandemic, as well has high rates of COVID-19.

“PMA carriers and terminal operators made historic profits of $510 billion during the pandemic,” ILWU said in a statement in early June. “The ILWU is committed to bargaining a contract that is fair and equitable, including wages and benefits that reflect the dedication of the ILWU workforce and its contributions to the shipping industry’s success.”

PMA, meanwhile, said in an annual report from 2022 that longshore workers put in 2,000 hours a year — or 40 hours a week — and made $197,514.

As the two sides traded accusations — despite an earlier agreement to not publicly discuss the contract talks — port officials expressed concerns about retailers shifting their business to ports on the East and Guld coasts because they feared a work stoppage, among other issues.

After months of record-breaking cargo numbers during the pandemic, the ports of LA and Long Beach had seen a significant downtrend. Last year, for example, the Port of New York-New Jersey topped Los Angeles as the busiest in the nation for the first time in decades.

Jonathan Gold, the National Retail Federation’s vice president of supply chain and customs policy, said on Wednesday evening that the tentative labor agreement could have a stabilizing effect on cargo volumes at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

“A lot of retailers and other shippers have been waiting to see the agreement finalized to provide stability and certainty with regards to the West Coast ports,” Gold said in an interview. “Now having an agreement in place is critical for folks to decide to go back to the West Coast.”

Besides potentially boosting cargo numbers on the West Coast, Gold said, the labor contract could help stabilize the national and global supply chain as it continues recovering from unprecedented disruptions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We all understand the importance of the supply chain, and we’ve got to get back to a somewhat normal process in the supply chain,” Gold said. “So having this agreement in place, it’s going to help provide so much certainty and stability and hopefully normalization in the supply chain we’re looking for right now.”

Port and local elected officials also touted the agreement.

“The tentative agreement between the ILWU and the PMA,” POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a Wednesday tweet, “brings the stability and confidence that customers have been seeking.”

Mario Cordero, the CEO of the neighboring Port of Long Beach, agreed.

“This is great news for the West Coast ports and the supply chain all across America,” Cordero said in a statement. “The contract agreement will have a hugely beneficial impact to the U.S. economy, which depends on our ports and the trade they facilitate. The goods movement workforce and industries provide a crucial and often unheralded service to society by keeping cargo flowing and shelves stocked.

“The importance of this work cannot be overestimated,” he added, “and we are fortunate to have so many dedicated individuals devoting their careers to it – people near and far.”

Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose 15th District includes the city’s port, and LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn — who represents an area that comprises both ports — also rejoiced at the news.

“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,” McOsker said in a statement. “A final agreement is great for our workers, for union strength, the city of Los Angeles, and our country’s economy.”