Port workers, employers reach tentative agreement on key issues

By City News Service

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced Thursday that it reached a tentative agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association on certain key issues, but negotiations remain ongoing until an agreement on a labor deal for port workers is reached.

The collective bargaining agreement that the ILWU and PMA are negotiating covers more than 22,000 longshore workers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports, including the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, two of the most busiest ports in the nation. ILWU, the union representing longshore workers, have been negotiating with PMA, the industry group representing shippers, since May 2022.

The parties are negotiating new contracts with priorities in wages and the role of automation. The parties’ previous agreement expired July 1.

The union and the PMA previously announced in late July that they had reached a tentative agreement on terms for maintenance of health benefits. The parties also issued a joint press release in February announcing that they were continuing to negotiate and remain hopeful of reaching a deal soon.

“The ILWU and PMA meet regularly in San Francisco to continue negotiating the collective bargaining agreement, and are committed to reaching an agreement,” the union said in a statement.