LOS ANGELES (AP) – The contract that keeps thousands of dockworkers on the job at West Coast ports from San Diego to Seattle is expiring, but don’t expect a disruption in the billions of dollars of trade that crosses the waterfront – at least not yet.
Both the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the association that represents shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 ports have promised to keep negotiating past 5 p.m. PDT Tuesday, when the current six-year contract ends.
Indeed, no resolution is expected for weeks, with tough issues including whether workers should shoulder more of the hefty cost of health care yet to be resolved.
As talks drag out, jitters will grow among the companies that last year imported or exported nearly $900 billion worth of cargo across the West Coast waterfront.
The Pacific Maritime Association has said that labor peace is essential to keeping West Coast ports competitive, especially with larger vessels able to sail from Asia directly to East Coast markets once an expansion of the Panama Canal is completed.