The latest significant progress in labor negotiations at the West Coast ports, as expected, has been announced by both ILWU and PMA. However, we need to look at the announcements together, to see the commonalities and differences in their content. This way, we can make a more accurate assessment of the negotiation process and trends
1、ILWU press release - Preliminary agreement reached on key issues.
2、ILWU announced today that it has reached a preliminary agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), representing shipping terminal employers, on certain key issues. Negotiations are ongoing until an agreement is reached.
3、The union and employers previously announced on July 26, 2022, that they had reached a preliminary agreement on terms to maintain health benefits. They also issued a joint press release on February 23, 2023, announcing that they would continue negotiating and expressing hope for a soon-to-be-reached agreement. Both sides have agreed not to discuss the terms of the tentative agreement while negotiations continue.
4、The collective bargaining agreement being negotiated by ILWU and PMA covers over 22,000 longshore workers in 29 ports on the US West Coast. The previous agreement expired on July 1, 2022, and negotiations began on May 10, 2022. ILWU and PMA regularly meet in San Francisco to continue negotiating the collective bargaining agreement and strive to reach an agreement.
5、The above is the ILWU version of the announcement, and below is the PMA version of the announcement.
PMA stated that although significant progress has been made in coastal contract negotiations, several key issues remain unresolved. Meanwhile, work actions led by ILWU Local 13 at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continued to disrupt operations at some key shipping terminals today. The union intends to conduct unconventional and unplanned inspections, disrupting terminal operations.
6、PMA referred to ILWU Local 13's actions at 12 container terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where at least six cranes were tagged as unsafe with red labels, forcing the equipment to be shut down until it could be inspected. This time-consuming strategy is said to have reduced terminal operations efficiency.
7、In March, a coalition of 238 US shippers and transportation interest groups expressed frustration with the lack of progress in labor negotiations on the US West Coast and the resulting cargo diversions, urging the White House to intervene in the negotiations.
8、On February 23 of this year, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced that they would continue to negotiate and still hope to reach an agreement soon. During the negotiations, West Coast ports continue to operate.