Port of LA and Long Beach labor negotiations reach tentative agreement
The union representing workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said Thursday it has reached a tentative agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association.
The collective bargaining agreement that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and PMA are negotiating covers more than 22,000 longshore workers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports, including two of the busiest ports in the nation, Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Both parties agreed not to disclose the terms of the tentative agreements, with key issues being wages and the role of automation, as negotiations continue.
There has been tension along the way as PMA accused ILWU Local 13 of withholding labor that shut down terminals throughout the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach for two days in April.
ILWU, the union representing longshore workers, has been negotiating with PMA, the industry representing shippers, since May 2022.
The union and the PMA previously announced in late July 2022 that they had reached a tentative agreement on terms for the maintenance of health benefits.
The parties also issued a joint press release on February 2023 announcing that they were continuing to negotiate and remain hopeful of reaching a deal soon.
Aside from the two-day shutdown, PMA further accused the union of delaying the standard dispatch process, which is jointly administered by PMA and ILWU, and refused to allow PMA's participation in the labor dispatch process.
PMA said ILWU's actions slowed the start of operations throughout the Southern California port complex and forced crucial cargo handling equipment to be taken out of operation at several key terminals.
However, ILWU Local 13 attributed the dockworker shortage, which led to a two-day shutdown, to union members attending its monthly meeting and observing religious holidays.
Port of Los Angeles officials stated they were in communication with the ILWU and PMA, along with federal, state, and local officials to support a return to normal operations in the ports regarding the temporary San Pedro Bay Terminal closures.
