PMA and ILWU finally agree a new five year contract

Late Friday evening February 20, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that a tentative deal had been reached on a new five year labour contract.

Details of the agreement affecting around 20,000 West Coast dockworkers at 29 ports, who have been without a contract since July, were not released. The PMA and ILWU have been negotiating since May.

The agreement, which still needs approval from union members and employers, should start easing severe congestion that has been building for months at the nation’s busiest ports including Los Angeles and Long Beach.