An agreement between 22,000 dockworkers at US West Coast ports and their employers could take several months to achieve, but service disruptions during the discussions were unlikely, according to Gene Seroka, chief of the Port of Los Angeles.
However, Seroka pointed out that this was his personal view and did not represent those of employers or the union negotiating on behalf of the workers.
Negotiations for the new contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the more than 70 employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association began in May and continued after the previous deal expired on July 1st. A similar delay occurred the previous time the agreement expired. This time round the negotiating parties
have said they are committed to avoiding a repeat of the nine months of disruptions and shipping delays that ensued when they last negotiated a full contract in 2014 and 2015.
“These dockworkers have real issues on the table and worked through the pandemic like many others did,” Seroka said. “The industry has made a tremendous amount of money over the last three years — that money should be shared.”
He said worker protections needed to be put in place based on lessons from the pandemic, and noted that that automation and robotics on the ports — which will continue to be introduced — were polarizing industrial-relations issues. “We are going to continue to move faster with technology development — we just cannot leave the worker behind. If we keep
those postulates together, we’ll get through this in good order”, said Seroka.
