ILWU and shipping industry employers’ body agree to talk about contract extension

The major labour union for US West Coast dockworkers and the organization representing employers in the shipping industry on that coast announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to start talks on extending their contract, according to Reuters.

The 20,000-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) plan to meet on November 1-2.

Although the current labour contract runs until June 2019 both sides want to renew it sooner than necessary to give Pacific Coast ports a longer period of stability.

That need reflects recent memories of the cargo slowdowns that occurred over a nine-month period before being settled in the contract agreement of February 2015.