Dock workers at West Coast ports ratified a six-year contract that improved pay and benefits for 22,000 employees at 29 ports from California to Washington state.
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union voted 75 percent in favor of approving the West Coast port worker agreement that runs until 2028. Reuters says longshore workers covered by the agreement are based at some of the busiest seaports in the nation, including the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, which is the busiest ocean trade gateway in the U.S. “The contract negotiations were protracted and challenging,” says ILWU International President Willie Adams.
The union and the Pacific Maritime Association employer group reached a tentative agreement back in June, ending 13 months of talks. The agreement eased worries that more West Coast disruptions could hit the all-important retail holiday shipping season. West Coast ports lost business to others on the East and Gulf Coasts.