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UPDATED: ILWU, PMA reach agreement
on contract
Updated July 29, 2008 1:07:55 PM
Bill Mongelluzzo / The JOURNAL of COMMERCE
ONLINE
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The tentative contract
reached late Monday by negotiators for the International Longshore
and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association promises
six years of peace and stability at West Coast ports, beginning
immediately.
Upon announcement of the proposed agreement, the ILWU confirmed
that it has agreed to extend the previous contract, which expired
on July 1, until the general membership votes on the new agreement.
This will resurrect the contract's no-strike clause and should
prevent work slowdowns, which employers said hurt productivity
during negotiations.
Longshoremen, who had been engaging in a strategy
of coordinated and extended coffee breaks the past three weeks,
were expected Tuesday to return to the standard procedure of staggering
their breaks in order to keep cargo flowing smoothly.
"They will be taking coffee breaks, but
they may not be taking them together," said ILWU spokesman
Craig Merrilees.
Spokesmen for the PMA and the union are withholding
details of the tentative contract until employer and union leaders
present a copy of the agreement to their respective members.
In a process expected to extend into late August,
the ILWU will hold a caucus in San Francisco the week of Aug.
18. If the 100-member caucus approves the tentative contract,
a vote by the entire union membership will be scheduled.
"We respect the rank and file tradition.
The members have the first, last and final say," Merrilees
said.
Management has a more streamlined approach to approving the contract.
Board members have been kept informed of progress throughout the
negotiations and approval could come by phone, said PMA spokesman
Kevin Elliott.
In a brief announcement late Monday, ILWU President
Bob McEllrath and PMA President Jim McKenna said the proposed
agreement meets the needs of the workers and industry and keeps
West Coast ports competitive.
The proposed contract is not expected to include
any surprises. It will most likely call for wage increases, maintenance
of the union's generous benefits package and some measures to
improve productivity.
Until the previous contract was negotiated in
2002, the West Coast had mostly three-year contracts. The tentative
contract announced Monday will be for six years.
"This will return port operations to being
productive and efficient. It certainly will provide more stability,"
Elliott said.
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