ILWU

ILWU said that 75% of its membership voted in favor of approving the new contract. And it added that this new agreement protects good-paying jobs in 29 West Coast port communities, maintains health benefits, and improves wages, pensions, and safety protections.

Freight transportation, logistics, and supply chain stakeholders are breathing a collective sigh of relief today, as the long-running labor negotiations West Coast port labor quarrel has ostensibly come to an end, with the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) coming to terms yesterday on a six-year tentative deal.

POLA reported that total May volume came in at 779,140 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), representing a 19.5% annual decline. And the Port of Long Beach reported that May volume fell 14.9% annually, coming in at 758,225 TEU.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Glenn Koepke, GM, Network Collaboration, for Chicago-based FourKites, a provider of real-time tracking and visibility solutions across transportation modes and digital platforms. Koepke provided Berman with an overview of the how FourKites views global trade activity and the things impacting it. 

In the letter to the President Biden U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark wrote that it is imperative for the White House to intervene immediately and appoint an independent mediator to help the ILWU and PMA come to terms on an agreement on a new contract.

The push for a new West Coast port labor deal continues….with no end in sight? OK, that is an exaggeration, but, yes, that is what it feels like, at times., to be sure. Not all that long ago, there were clear signs of optimism, or progress, in terms of a deal being reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).

Could the possibility of a West Coast port labor deal between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) be finally inching to reality?

On April 20, the ILWU said that it has reached a tentative agreement with the PMA “on certain key issues,” adding that talks are continuing on an ongoing basis until an agreement is reached.

Total March volume—at 623,233 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—came in just over the port’s initial expectations for the month. While this marked a 35% annual decline, POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka said that it was up against the highest-volume March on record for POLA.

The potential for a West Coast port labor stoppage looked like it was turning into a reality, with various reports issued late last week stating that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) withheld labor at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB) before returning back to work on Saturday, April 8.

ILWU and PMA said that the tentative agreement is subject to agreement on the other issues in the negotiations.

Even though the current contract has expired, the ILWU and PMA said on July 1 that negotiations on a new deal will continue to move forward.

As negotiations continue between the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), with their current contract set to expire at the end of June, the organizations said in a joint statement issued today that “they are unlikely to reach a deal before the July 1 expiration of the current agreement.”

In advance of the negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which began this week, PMA President and CEO Jim McKenna offered up his take on what may be in store as the negotiations for a new deal progress. The current deal is set to expire at the end of June.

While the negotiations on a new contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) are set to begin in May, prior to the expiration of the existing deal on June 30, the ILWU’s top executive expressed optimism that a new deal will come to fruition.