The current US West Coast dockworker contract will expire next July, leaving negotiations for a new contract to take place amid a predicted atmosphere of constrained capacity and high rates.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents longshoremen at all the West Coast ports, including the ports Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Portland, Tacoma and Seattle. Its last two contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers, caused widespread congestion, disruption and cargo diversion.
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Press Releases
24 Aug 2017
ILWU Local 10 will protest at conservative group's rally Saturday, but cargo-handling at Port of Oakland is expected to proceed as usual.
24 Aug 2017
Arbitrator hearing to be held Wednesday involving ILWU picket line at Pasha terminal, where newly organized supervisors are negotiating a contract.
10 Aug 2017
Will the vote be remembered as a narrow, ultimately inconsequential act, or a turning point premised on a message to the union leadership that something needs to change?
31 Jul 2017
No date has been set for the start of bargaining on a coastwide ILA contract.
28 Jul 2017
The subject of a contract extension was first raised in March 2015 at the JOC’s annual TPM Conference.
27 Jul 2017
Portland will have a better idea of the types of container business it can attract back to the port by year-end.
06 Jul 2017
The superintendent organizing efforts come at a sensitive time for the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association.
19 Jun 2017
ILWU expected to vote on contract extension after local informational meetings are completed.
06 Jun 2017
Portland has been without weekly container services since 2015.
01 May 2017
Extending the ILWU contract into 2022 would guarantee BCOs labor peace on the West Coast for the next five years.
28 Apr 2017
ILWU caucus Friday votes to take PMA proposal for a contract extension to a vote by the rank and file.
24 Mar 2017
The same legislation was introduced once before without ever making it out of the Senate.
10 Mar 2017
Employers and ILWU representatives discussed a contract extension most recently in early March.
07 Feb 2017
Cargo-handling at Los Angeles and Long Beach could be compromised without an infusion of new workers.
23 Jan 2017
Waterfront employers and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are moving aggressively to ensure there will be enough dockworkers to handle cargo in the largest US port complex.
02 Nov 2016
Discussions between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association about a possible extension of the West Coast waterfront contract apparently ended on a positive note.
01 Nov 2016
Negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association on Tuesday opened two days of talks on a possible extension of their coastwide contract.
27 Sep 2016
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association on Tuesday raised shippers’ hopes for a longer period of labor peace at US West Coast ports.
11 Aug 2016
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Thursday gave a huge boost to beneficial cargo owners looking for long-term labor stability.
09 Aug 2016
A historic International Longshore and Warehouse Union caucus that could solidify the role of the West Coast as the preferred and natural gateway for U.S. trade with Asia will convene Wednesday in San Francisco.
28 Jul 2016
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union will call delegates to San Francisco to consider a vote on early contract talks.
07 Jul 2016
No significant impact experienced by ports due to "hour of silence" action by dockers.
06 Jul 2016
U.S. East and West Coast ports are preparing for a planned hour-long work stoppage.
19 Jun 2016
“Negotiations are more visible now. There is pressure on both sides, and pressure does a lot to get things done,” said Pacific Maritime Association President Jim McKenna.
18 Apr 2016
Congressional representatives from western states and U.S. agricultural interests are urging the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association to launch early talks to extend their current contract beyond the Jul. 1, 2019, expiration date.
15 Apr 2016
LONG BEACH, California — Pacific Maritime Association President Jim McKenna on Friday formally requested that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union join employers in launching early talks to extend the existing West Coast labor contract beyond its July 1, 2019, expiration date.
29 Mar 2016
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association Tuesday entered into formal arbitration over an incident Monday that shut down the largest container terminal in Oakland for one shift.
15 Mar 2016
With memories of last year’s West Coast port disruptions still fresh in their minds, a coalition representing 113 local, state and federal trade associations of beneficial cargo owners on Tuesday urged the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association to begin early discussions on a contract extension.
06 Mar 2016
With U.S. West Coast ports facing increasing productivity challenges as more mega-ships call their docks, it’s abundantly clear that labor stability is essential if the ports want to keep, and grow, their share of U.S. imports.
01 Mar 2016
Agricultural exporters are educating longshore workers and terminals operators at West Coast ports on the extent their showdown caused in 2015 and early 2016, a shipper group head said Tuesday here at JOC’s 16th annual TPM Conference.
01 Mar 2016
For the first time since the grueling contract negotiations of 2014-15, the presidents of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association said they are willing to raise with their memberships the possibility of extending the existing agreement beyond the July 1, 2019, expiration date in the interests of labor peace.
22 Feb 2016
Washington state suffered an economic impact of $769.5 million due to labor disruptions at West Coast ports this past year, according to one of the most detailed analyses of the impact of a labor disruption on U.S. business and industry.
28 Dec 2015
Successfully working the two largest container ships ever to call at a North American port in the same week required an extraordinary effort involving container lines, APM Terminals, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the railroads, chassis providers and three federal government agencies, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said Monday.
11 Dec 2015
A fourth employer has reached agreement with the union representing clerical workers at shipping lines and terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach.
09 Dec 2015
The revolutionary arbitration system contained in the new West Coast waterfront contract should significantly reduce the number of dockworker challenges involving technology and automation and will help to foster port growth in the coming years, the president of the Pacific Maritime Association said Tuesday.
