Tentative West Coast contract offers union perks, new way to settle disputes
Source: JOC.com
The tentative West Coast waterfront contract that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will vote on next month includes plenty of perks for the union and could revolutionize how day-to-day disputes on the waterfront are adjudicated.
But more than nine months of negotiation and the resulting standoff that brought ports to the brink of gridlock all could be for naught if ILWU locals decide to reject the tentative agreement over manning issues.
The tentative agreement that was signed on Feb. 20 by the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association includes wage increases that are more generous than in previous agreements, full dockworker maintenance of benefits to be paid for by the PMA and a new arbitration system that replaces individual arbitrators in the local ports with a three-member panel.
JOC.com received a copy of the ILWU/PMA Pacific Coast Longshore and Clerks’ Agreement that was tentatively approved by the ILWU and PMA after nine months of negotiations, the last four of which were tarnished by work slowdowns that contributed to severe congestion at West Coast ports. The contract, if approved, will run for five years.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://www.joc.com/port-news/longshoreman-labor/international-longshore-and-warehouse-union/tentative-west-coast-contract-offers-union-perks-new-way-settle-disputes_20150316.html
This is huge for labor. I hope this spreads to other areas of Organized Labor. It is the top story at the The Journal of Commerce (JOC.com).
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