Pacific Maritime Association, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Reach Tentative Agreement

The Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached a tentative agreement last week after more than a year of negotiations. The contract between the two expired July 1, 2022 and 22,000 dockworkers have been working in good faith for nearly a year as the two sides hammered out a deal, reports CNN.

The new six-year deal covers workers at all 29 West Coast ports and comes after worker stoppages that closed various West Coast port terminals in recent weeks.

The deal was reached with assistance from Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su who met with both sides earlier this week, the PMA and the ILWU said in a joint statement. Details of the deal will not be released and is subject to ratification.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce in keeping our ports operating,” James McKenna, president of the PMA, and Willie Adams, president of the ILWU, said in the joint statement.

“We are also pleased to turn our full attention back to the operation of the West Coast Ports,” they said.