No End in Sight for West Coast Dockside Labor Negotiations

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) are sustaining the drama.

But will supply chain managers soon tire of these theatrics?

After several days of what spokesmen say are “productive” contract talks, both parties concluded negotiations on July 25. No talks will take place from July 28 to Aug. 1 so that the ILWU can resume unrelated contract negotiations in the Pacific Northwest.

The saga continues, as the PMA and ILWU plan to resume their contract negotiations on Monday, August 4, in San Francisco. The previous labor contract covering nearly 20,000 longshore workers at 29 West Coast ports expired July 1.

While there is no contract extension in place, both parties have pledged to keep cargo moving. The coast-wide labor contract is between employers who operate port terminals and shipping lines represented by the PMA and dockworkers represented by the ILWU. The parties have negotiated a West Coast collective bargaining agreement since the 1930s.

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