West Coast dockworkers reach tentative deal with shippers

Published 9:24 pm Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The union representing thousands of West Coast dockworkers has reached a tentative contract deal with shippers that promises to keep ports running and avoid another blow to the U.S. economy.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced the six-year agreement following months of negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association. Neither side released details of the deal, which still must be ratified by union and PMA members.

“The ILWU negotiating committee is very pleased and feels like they met their goals of good jobs, safer jobs and an agreement that will help dockworkers and nearby communities,” union spokesman Craig Merrilees said.

The contract covers more than 25,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports, including the Port of Everett and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

“We are thrilled to have an agreement that is going to return the ports to a productive, safe and efficient state,” PMA spokesman Kevin Elliott said. “And that is good for the economy, good for workers and it is good for the industry.”

The current six-year contract covering dockworkers expired July 1 without a strike or lockout, with both sides insisting they wanted to keep the ports running smoothly — even if they had to keep talking after the deadline.

Neither side wanted a replay of the bitter 10-day lockout in 2002 that caused an estimated $15 billion in economic losses.

Tension grew after the contract expired, as shippers accused dockworkers at the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles of intentionally slowing cargo movement.

The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents 71 shipping companies and terminal operators, claimed workers were taking coordinated breaks and working at a slower pace to drag down productivity at the nation’s largest port complex.

The union, which ­represents 26,000 workers at ports in California, Oregon and Washington, insisted the shippers were exaggerating.

There has also been tension with salary claims made by the shippers.

Elliot said the average full-time dockworker made $136,000 in 2007, placing them among the best paid blue-­collar workers in the nation.

Merrilees called the figure “absolutely, positively, patently false.” He said workers typically earn $30.68 per hour, though this is augmented if they work overtime or have special skills.

The union has previously stressed that only about 10,000 of the 25,000 workers covered by the current contract work full-time or more hours.

With a tentative deal in place, the union’s 100 delegates will have until Aug. 18 to decide whether union members will vote on the proposal.

The union previously reached an agreement with shippers on a health-care plan expected to cost about $500 million this year.

The ports handled 12.2 million cargo containers last year and accounted for an annual domestic impact of $1.2 trillion, about 11 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, the association said.

That volume marked a 45 percent increase from 2002.