The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) postponed the scheduled second day of contract extension talks, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram.
Both sides characterized the talks, which are intended to help avoid a repeat of last year’s disruption at US West Coast ports, as positive but did not specify why they ended after Tuesday’s session. Nor did they say when the parties would reconvene.
The PMA represents employers in the Pacific Coast shipping industry, covering 29 ports from Southern California to Washington State. The ILWU represents 20,000 dockworkers at those ports.
Currently the labour contract runs until June 2019 but both parties want to renew it sooner to ensure a longer period of stability.
