West Coast dockworkers ratify contract extension with PMA

Sixty-seven percent of International Longshore and Warehouse Union members voted in favor of the extension, according to balloting results from all longshore locals within the states where ILWU members voted.    Longshore workers at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington have officially ratified a three-year contract extension with the Pacific Maritime Association, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said Aug. 4.
   The vote by rank-and-file ILWU members on the West Coast eliminates the possibility of a labor strike over the next five years. The current agreement was set to expire July 1, 2019, but the newly approved three-year extension pushes the expiration back three years to July 1, 2022.
   The new contract will raise wages, maintain health benefits, and increase pensions for 20,000 union members from 2019-2022, according to the union and employers’ group. Per the policy of each side, however, exact figures have not been revealed. 
   Sixty-seven percent of members voted in favor of the extension, according to balloting results from all longshore locals within the three voting states.
   The results followed a several months-long debate and democratic decision-making process that allowed every registered longshore worker from Bellingham, Wash. to San Diego, Calif. to express their views and cast a ballot.
   “During the past year we saw a healthy debate and heard different points of view, with concerns raised by all sides,” ILWU International President Robert McEllrath said. “The rank-and-file membership has made their decision and expressed a clear choice.”
   “With this contract extension, the West Coast waterfront has a tremendous opportunity to attract more market share and demonstrate that our ports and our workforce are truly world-class,” PMA President James McKenna said. “We are fully committed to delivering the highest standards of reliability and productivity for years to come.”
   The previous ILWU-PMA labor deal was struck in 2015 after a lengthy and contentious negotiation that left many West Coast ports highly congested and the supply chains of those that depended on them in disarray. But after the last round of contract negotiations, trade organizations representing shippers and transportation providers began urging ILWU President Robert McEllrath and PMA Chairman and CEO James McKenna to begin early discussions on either a contract extension or a new contract.
   Last September, the two sides agreed to discuss the concept of a contract extension. That in turn, led to the nearly year-long debate regarding the framework of a contract extension.
   In the time since the two sides announced in late July that the extension was likely to be approved, observers and stakeholders have chimed in on the deal, including the Agriculture Transportation Coalition and National Retail Federation.
   “It is an understatement to say that operational stability has been lacking at West Coast terminals during recent longshore labor contract negotiations resulting in significant losses of export and import sales and customers,” Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition said. “Removing one cause of port operational disruption, labor negotiations, is thus highly valued and appreciated by AgTC members.”
   “We applaud ILWU members for taking the unprecedented step of approving a contract extension well in advance of the contract expiration,” National Retail Federation Vice President Jonathan Gold said. “This agreement between the ILWU and PMA will provide the stability and predictability that NRF’s members and other supply chain stakeholders need to move their cargo efficiently through our ports.”