ILWU members approve 5-year labor contract

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said 82 percent of its members voted in favor of ratification.    Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have approved a new five-year labor contract agreement. The union said in a statement 82 percent of its members voted in favor of the agreement.
   Employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association approved the contract, which covers approximately 20,000 workers at 29 ports on the West Coast, on Wednesday. PMA represents 72 employers, including cargo carriers, terminal operators and stevedores.
   The ILWU and PMA began bargaining on May 12, 2014, and did not reach a tentative settlement until February 20 this year, when approval was recommended unanimously by the union’s 16-member elected negotiating committee and 8-member safety sub-committee.
   A vote of approval was recommended to union members on April 3 after 90 delegates to the ILWU’s Coast Longshore Caucus spent a week reviewing the proposed agreement line-by-line. Seventy-eight percent of the caucus members recommended approval of the labor deal.
   The new agreement will expire on July 1, 2019. The previous contract was ratified in 2008 with a vote of 75 percent in favor.
   Voting results were certified today by the ILWU’s Coast Balloting Committee, which was chosen by Coast Longshore Caucus delegates elected from each of the 29 West Coast ports.
   “The negotiations for this contract were some of the longest and most difficult in our recent history,” said ILWU International President Robert McEllrath. “Membership unity and hard work by the Negotiating Committee made this fair outcome possible.”
   PMA President and CEO Jim McKenna said of the announcement, “This contract provides an important framework for the hard work ahead to overcome new competitive challenges and to continue to position the West Coast ports as destinations of choice for shippers worldwide. From San Diego to Bellingham, these ports have long been the primary gateways for cargo coming into and leaving the United States, and our interests are aligned in ensuring they can effectively, and efficiently, handle the capacity growth that drives economies and jobs.’’
   The union said the contract will maintain excellent health benefits; improve wages, pensions and job safety protections; limit outsourcing of jobs; and provide an improved system for resolving job disputes.
   The ILWU has not posted a copy of the contract on its website, but a copy of the agreement was posted on the blog longshore-labor-relations.com. It shows most members receiving increases of $1 to $1.50 per hour in each of the five years covered by the agreement, which is retroactive to July 1, 2014.
   A chorus of business and political leaders said they were pleased that the contract had been approved, but were careful not to pat the ILWU and PMA on the back too hard:

• Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation said, “While we are happy to see the contract ratified, it’s not going to be long before we are go through this process all over again. Negotiators need to begin their talks early enough to have an agreement in place well before another contract expires. Stakeholders cannot afford to go through this process every couple of years. We need a new system in place that benefits all parties and provides for the efficient transportation of the nation’s cargo and commerce.”
• Juanita D. Duggan, president and chief executive officer of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said half the clothes and shoes sold in the U.S. come through West Coast ports and, “For the apparel and footwear industry, the port disruption was our number one trade barrier, and something we very strongly feel cannot happen again.”
• Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti called the approval “a big day for America’s number one port – the Port of Los Angeles” and said with ratification “we can now move forward together to make our port the best in the world and keep our economy moving.”
• Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles said, “Our port teams are working with supply chain stakeholders on a series of initiatives that will take cargo efficiency and velocity to the next level here in San Pedro Bay.”
• Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Doug Drummond said, “This new pact is terrific for management and labor, and proves that by working together, we can build a partnership that will continue to help to improve this economy and provide jobs all across the United States.”
• Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle said, “Thanks to both the PMA and ILWU, this agreement puts the contract discussions behind us. Now we can get down to the important work: improving service to shippers so that we remain their primary U.S. trade gateway.”
• Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech Friday at the Providence Chamber of Commerce in Rhode Island the labor dispute at West Coast ports and a harsh winter probably contributed to the U.S. economy’s flat growth in the first quarter. In the past two weeks, retailers such as Gap Inc., Home Depot, Macy’s and Walmart have stated in earnings reports that sales were muted by delays getting merchandise to store shelves because of the shipping backlogs at the ports.