West Coast Longshoremen, Employers Discuss Contract Extension

Representatives from the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), met Tuesday in San Francisco and discussed a possible extension of their current contract, which covers 20,000 members of the ILWU Longshore Division who work at 29 West Coast ports. The current contract runs through June 30, 2019. “No additional comments from either party will be made prior to the next meeting date,” the ILWU and the PMA said in a joint statement. In August, a group of 128 trade organizations representing shippers and transportation organizations joined together to urge the ILWU and the PMA to begin early contract talks.