Five-year contract now goes to rank and file union members for a ratification vote.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Coast Longshore Caucus delegates voted Friday to recommend approval of the tentative five-year contract agreement reached on Feb. 20, 2015, between the union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association.
The union said 79 percent of the 90 caucus delegates voted to recommend the new labor contract after spending the week reviewing the proposed agreement line-by-line.
“This agreement required ten months of negotiations – the longest in recent history,” said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, “but we secured a tentative agreement to maintain good jobs for dockworkers, families and communities from San Diego to Bellingham. Longshore men and women on the docks will now have the final and most important say in the process.”
Copies of the agreement will now be mailed to individual longshore union members, who will then have a chance to discuss the proposal at local union meetings.
A secret ballot membership ratification vote, to be conducted on May 22, will be the final step in the approval process.
U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who was dispatched from Washington to help negotiators reach the tentative deal in February, said the vote was “an important step toward finalizing the agreement. I am optimistic that the rank and file membership will recognize the contract as a fair resolution, and will vote to approve the contract.”
“Since the parties reached the tentative deal in February, congestion at the ports has eased considerably as the shippers and dockworkers have worked together to restore full operations at the 29 West Coast ports,” said Perez. “Continued economic growth and job creation depends on dynamic, fully functioning ports, so moving forward, restoring confidence in the ports must be a priority for all stakeholders.
“The port operators and dockworkers must work together to demonstrate that the West Coast ports can be among the most efficient and effective ports in the world,” he added. “I am confident in their commitment to that shared goal, and I applaud their willingness to put an end to their dispute and move forward together.”
Juanita D. Duggan, president and chief execuitive officer of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said the “recommendation by the ILWU caucus puts us on the path to ending the labor dispute that contributed to the West Coast ports crisis,” noting that over half of all clothing and shoes sold in the United States are imported through West Coast ports.
“It’s important for us to close this chapter, not only because we need our ports to be open and operational, but also for other systemic issues to be addressed – issues like how to handle the influx of big ships,” she said. “The contentious negotiations created severe disruption across all West Coast ports, with a backlog of ships unable to dock. In addition to delays and missed product deliveries, some apparel and footwear companies were forced to reroute the delivery of product through non-U.S. ports.”
ILWU caucus votes to recommend tentative labor agreement
