By MALLORY GRUBEN
After more than a year of negotiations, allegations of work stoppages, and a visit from Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) on June 14 reached a tentative agreement for workers at West Coast ports. The six-year agreement, if ratified by union members, would cover more than 22,000 longshore workers across 29 ports.
ILWU and PMA have released very few details about the tentative agreement. In a press release, union leaders said they won’t publicly share the agreement until members take their ratification vote in July or August. However, the Washington Post reported based on a source knowledgeable about the details that the first year of the six-year agreement provides retroactive raises between 8% and 10%.
ILWU and PMA started negotiating a new contract in May 2022. Their previous agreement expired two months later.
The tentative agreement comes about a week after PMA alleged that ILWU led “coordinated and disruptive work actions” that halted terminal operations in Seattle and slowed business at some other ports. The union disputed those claims.
Both parties said labor secretary Su played a key role in brokering the deal. For weeks, Su discussed negotiations with both sides over the phone. On June 12, she flew to California to meet with ILWU and PMA in person.
“I want to thank all who worked so diligently on these negotiations,” ILWU President Willie Adams said in a press release, “Along with a special thank you to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su whose leadership helped us cross the finish line.”
