Monday, November 25, 2002
Re: ILWU - PMA Tentative Port Labor Pact Approved

U.S. West Coast longshoremen and port employers on Sunday outlined a six-year contract deal that paves the way for a long-awaited modernization of the waterfront and ends a bitter labor dispute that had threatened to derail the U.S. economy.

While employers and union officials released few details about the agreement reached late Saturday night, the deal gives the International Longshore & Warehouse Union the significant wage and pension increases it was seeking.

The pact between the 10,500-member union and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents port employers, will also lead to new labor-saving technology that shippers say is needed to make the ports more efficient.

The deal now goes before a union caucus Dec. 9 and ILWU President James Spinosa said longshoremen will probably vote on the agreement in early January. Until then, the longshoremen will work under the terms of the old contract.

"I'm looking forward to bringing this package to our members," Spinosa told a morning news conference. "It is a great victory for the ILWU."

President Bush welcomed the deal, which comes at a critical time for a slumping U.S. economy because the docks handle more than half of U.S. trade and any port disruptions ripple through world markets.

A 10-day lockout by the employers in September and October, paralyzed billions of dollars worth of U.S. trade, and forced the Bush administration to invoke the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to get the ports back in business. That injunction will now expire on Dec. 27.

Kind regards,
Judy Mannix, Administrator
North American Shippers Association