PMA and ILWU reach agreement on new 6-year labor contract for 29 west coast ports
After 13 months of fruitless negotiations, walkouts and cargo emigration, the PMA and ILWU have reached an agreement on a new six year labor contract at 29 West Coast ports.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su brokered the deal, the PMA announced in a tweet, which is subject to ratification. The details of the agreement have yet to be disclosed.
The ILWU and PMA reached a tentative agreement this afternoon that covers 22,000 workers in 29 west coast ports. “Collective bargaining works, even when it’s tough,” said the acting labor secretary, Su, who flew to California earlier this week to try and broker a deal amid sporadic strikes at several terminals on the west coast.
“We are delighted that we have reached an agreement with PMA that recognizes the hard work and personal sacrifice of our ILWU workers in keeping our ports open,” said PMA President James McKenna, and ILWU President Willie Adams, in a joint statement, “and we look forward to returning our full attention to the west coast ports.”
Today, there are only a handful of ships queuing at the major box terminals on the west coast of the United States, according to CTI Consulting.
According to Lars Jensen, CEO and founder of the container consultancy vespucci maritime, the threat of a major disruption has been averted.
Jensen added that the next thing to consider is whether this will lead to a shift of some cargo back toward the west coast over the next few months. "The issue of the low water level of the Panama Canal could be a factor in causing this to happen," he said.
With a strike looming, shippers have moved many of their port calls to the East Coast and the Gulf Coast in the past year.
However, the drought has caused the Panama Canal to impose restrictions that would limit containership capacity from Asia to the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Meanwhile, dockworkers in Canada are set to strike for 72 hours at Vancouver and Prince Rupert ports at the end of the month.
