Deal Ends Months-long Labor Dispute At West Coast Ports
In a deal publicly announced last week, the 72 employers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union approved a new five-year labor contract with the Pacific Maritime Association. According to Bloomberg News 82 percent of the ILWU members voted in favor of ratifying the new contract, ending a labor dispute that began when the previous contract expired in July 2014. In a statement Union president Robert McEllrath said, “The negotiations for this contract were some of the longest and most difficult in our recent history,” noting, “Membership unity and hard work by the negotiating committee made this fair outcome possible.”
The AP noted that the deal, applying to 13,000 union members, comes after a tentative agreement was reached in mid-February. Reuters reported February’s initial deal came with the help of a Federal mediator as well as US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the deal covers 29 ports along the West Coast and comes as “welcome news for the shipping industry,” as the lengthy contract dispute led to “delays for some retailers and others last fall and earlier this year” in shipping and receiving goods.
What Happens Next
Although the deal’s terms weren’t disclosed, it is retroactive to July 2014, and thus begins immediately. The new deal will extend until July 2019.
What This Means For Small Businesses
Though cargoes have now recovered, the Wall Street Journal recently noted that the Port of Los Angeles’ latest monthly shipping data showed an 11.8 percent decline in loaded container volume for April compared with April 2014, as a backlog due to the contract dispute was resolved. This indicates that ports along the West Coast still have a long way to go to reassure businesses worldwide that their products can be reliably imported and exported through these locations without risk of delays and disruptions due to labor disputes.
Additional Reading
NFIB has previously discussed the effects of labor disputes on the Port of Los Angeles and other West Coast ports.
