West Coast dockers? contract expires, talks continue

West Coast dockersÆ contract expires, talks continue West Coast ports continued operating as usual today following Tuesday's expiration of the current dockworkers' contract without an agreement by negotiators on a new labor pact.
   Talks are set to continue between officials of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing about 26,000 dockworkers, and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents more than 70 shipping lines and terminal operators that hire the dockworkers.
   The ILWU told its members to report to work as usual despite no agreement to extend the current six-year contract which officially expired at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
   'Members should continue working as normal while the ILWU Negotiating Committee keeps meeting to reach a fair contract,' the union told members on its Web site. 'The Negotiating Committee wants everyone to dispatch and work normally without any slowdowns or other actions.'
   The union told members that while most procedures and operations would continue as usual, there will be no arbitration process over disputes occurring after the contract expiration.
   Negotiations, which began in March, have reportedly been slow but very businesslike. ILWU and PMA officials have said publically that they are confident that a settlement can be reached in a timely fashion with no disruption to activities at the 29 West Coast ports.
   Independent equity analyst Edward Wolfe said in a research note Wednesday that there are rumors longshoremen may participate in work slowdowns in the near term. Although the two sides appear to be working amicably towards a new labor agreement, the ILWU declined to formally extend the current contract, which includes a no-strike clause.
   Last week, both sides reported surmounting a major hurdle in the talks with the initial approval by negotiators of a tentative health care benefit agreement. Maintaining the current health care package for its members was a primary goal of the ILWU's negotiating platform going into the talks.
   While the health care benefit issue has been tentatively worked through, negotiators are still working to reach agreement on several major topics, including wages, pensions, and safety rules.