Though official negotiations don’t start until May, the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) have been urged to begin communicating as soon as possible to avoid delays and work stoppage if they can’t come to an agreement by June 30, 2022. Despite concerns from the National Retail Federation (NRF), the ILWU’s top leadership has expressed strong and public confidence that a new deal will be reached that’s beneficial to both sides.
The stakes are critical as ILWU membership stands more than 14,000 workers strong and the PMA represents the interests of more than 29 ports on the west coast where more than 40% of imports arrive in the United States through the Los Angeles / Long Beach ports alone.
Not solely trusting the rosy outlook of the ILWU leadership, the NRF has already asked both parties to agree that there will be no work stoppage, even if a deal isn’t reached, for good reason. As we’ve seen over the past two years, delays and slowing down throughput can and will result in huge backlogs and bottlenecks of containers, depleting all available warehouse space and trucking capacity creating a cycle of disruption. In 2015, negotiations broke down briefly and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service had to get involved, and even then the delays were painful for the 2016 holiday shopping season.
This year, the ILWU comes to the table with two years of record-setting imports behind them in near-constant crisis conditions. The pandemic and social distancing needed to maintain a safe work environment reduced the number of people on-site, slowing the throughput and showing the need for more automation. The need for automation runs headlong into the interests of the ILWU to maintain and grow member numbers. Given their role during the pandemic and the record-setting profitability carriers (many of whom are also the terminal owners and operators), they have good reason to be confident of their ability to secure most of what they are seeking for their members.
Importantly, the current contract was negotiated in the difficult 2015 mediation and later extended in 2017 through today, making it a full seven years since a new contract was put in place. Those seven years feel like decades in terms of social, psychological, technological, and political impact. Both sides likely have comprehensive lists of demands and wishes to negotiate before a final agreement is reached.
In spite of carriers increasing use of direct east coast port calls, the west coast remains of critical importance to US trade with Asia. The ILWU’s jurisdiction stretches from Seattle to San Diego and we understand the critical role that longshoremen play in America’s ocean-borne commerce. We encourage both sides to do what is necessary to craft and agree to a contract that benefits not just themselves, but the shippers who use the ports as well.
Alba will continue to monitor negotiations and share what updates are publicly available.
