Dockworkers’ reps recommend contract approval

LOS ANGELES – A tentative contract agreement that restored the flow of international trade through West Coast seaports earlier this year took a big step closer Friday to becoming official, as representatives of the dockworkers’ union overwhelmingly recommended that rank-and-file members vote to approve the deal.

Difficult contract negotiations nearly closed 29 seaports from San Diego to Seattle, causing major delays in the delivery of billions of dollars of imports and exports.

Negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached the tentative, five-year deal in February with companies that run the ships and marine terminals, which are integral to trans-Pacific trade.

This week, a caucus of 90 union delegates met to study the offer in detail.

On Friday, 78 percent of delegates voted to urge the broader membership to approve the contract, the union said in a statement. The contract covers about 20,000 workers but only 13,000 have voting rights. Votes are cast by mail and will be tallied May 22.

The tentative agreement restored labor peace on the West Coast waterfront, which handles about $1 trillion of trade each year.

At the height of the dispute, three dozen ships stacked with tens of thousands of containers were anchored outside the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. On Friday, there were 13 vessels, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

The executive director of the Port of Los Angeles estimated in February that the traffic jam would take several months to clear.

The Pacific Maritime Association, representing shipping lines and port terminal operators, would not comment on the vote.

A copy of the contract has not been released.

In a letter just before the agreement in February, association President James McKenna outlined what he called employers’ “last, best and final” offer. It included maintenance of nearly no-cost health coverage, an $11,000 increase in the maximum pension benefit to $91,000 a year, and a $1-per-hour wage increase over each of the five years. Though dockworker wages vary, the average exceeds $50 per hour, the maritime association said.