ILWU and PMA begin contract talks

ILWU and PMA begin contract talks West Coast dockworkers and their industry employers begin formal contract negotiation Monday in San Francisco.
   The current six year-contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association expires July 1. Expectations are that the new contract will cover a three-year timeframe, more in keeping with contracts in the past.
   The two sides will begin the process by presenting each other with first round proposals. Both sides have kept very quiet on the details of what might be talked about or linked to the new contract. Several items that have been mentioned by officials from both sides, but not confirmed as actual negotiating points include elimination of the 'hoot shift,' further entrenchment of docker benefits, workplace safety issues and reducing air pollution at ILWU serviced operations.
   Negotiations typically start three months before the contract expiration date, however, both sides agreed last year to begin the talks early. During the last contract negotiations in 2002, a contentious 10-day lockout by employers that shut down West Coast port operations resulted in an eight-month long negotiation that was not ratified until 2003. The final hit to he national economy from the lockout has been estimated between $10 billion and $20 billion. ' Keith Higginbotham