West Coast port labor talks going smoothly

West Coast port labor talks going smoothly Contract negotiations are continuing smoothly between the West Coast dockers' union and the association representing shipping lines according to a short joint release issued May 22.
   Officials from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association said both sides are confident that an agreement will be successfully reached before the current six-year ILWU/PMA labor contract expires on July 1.
   ILWU President Robert McEllrath and PMA President Jim McKenna agreed to begin talks on March 17 in an effort to work out the details of a new contract that will cover wages, benefits and conditions of employment for 25,000 ILWU members working at 29 West Coast ports in California, Oregon and Washington.
   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 toll on the national economy from the lockout has been estimated at $10 billion to $20 billion.
   Unlike the 2002 negotiation, where daily discussions became fodder for local and national media, ILWU and PMA officials have no intentions of trying their positions in the press this time around.
   'There was an agreement early on that what happens at the table stays at the table until an agreement is reached,” PMA spokesman Steve Getzug told the Daily Breeze.
   'The important thing is that the negotiations are ongoing,' he said. 'There is still optimism that we can reach a fair and reasonable contract before the current six-year contract expires.'