The week-long strike at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles ended last night after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Unit (ILWU) and port employers reached an agreement on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
The contract, which expires on June 30, 2016, includes details about working hours, conditions, wages and benefits, lead negotiator of the contract and President of the ILWU John Fageaux said.
“The main component of this agreement was improved language that will protect our members and the job from any outsourcing,” he said.
According to Fageaux, union members will have a 100 percent guarantee for job provision until the contract expires in three years. The agreement gained immediate endorsement but still awaits a majority vote from union members to go into effect.
“The ratification vote … will take place sometime over the next two weeks,” Fageaux said. “I’m very happy with it. Both sides didn’t necessarily get what they wanted, but both sides got everything they needed.”
According to Port of Long Beach Spokesman Lee Peterson, the agreement was made shortly after mediators arrived from Washington, D.C. last night.
“Right now, the two sides have agreed that every body can come back to work,” he said.
During the strike, three of the six container terminals in Long Beach and seven of the eight terminals in Los Angeles were closed, Peterson said. According to assistant director of the Port of Long Beach, Art Wong, the ports handle about 40 percent of imports that come to the U.S. and $150 billion worth of cargo a year.
“Everybody who works there is happy to get back to work, and the cargo owners are happy to see [things] moving again,” Peterson said. “It’s a good thing. Everybody is pleased.”
