May an ILWU Tentative Settlement Occur in Subsequent Couple Weeks?

For the primary time in a very long time, actual constructive information on the Worldwide Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract negotiations broke yesterday. It was a localized settlement I’ll speak about in a bit as a result of buried within the story, nicely beneath the headlining information, was an announcement that probably deserves extra consideration than the headline.

Invoice Mongelluzzo reported within the Journal of Commerce:

Sources near the coastwide negotiations say they’re more and more optimistic {that a} tentative settlement could possibly be reached within the subsequent couple of weeks.

That is the primary time since contract negotiations started nearly a yr in the past (Might tenth, 2022) {that a} potential decision to talks could possibly be in sight. Was this buried within the article as a result of it appeared unlikely to Mongelluzzo? As a result of it’s simply optimism a couple of potential decision? Has he heard related statements of optimism previously that made this one really feel prefer it was worthy of little greater than a footnote? Or was he simply extra targeted on the tangible information?

ILWU, PMA Agree on Manning Non-Automated LA-LB Terminals

The strong information merchandise Mongelluzzo reported was “longshore labor and employers on the ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seashore have reached settlement on manning necessities for non-automated terminals.”

Sure, it is a localized difficulty to the San Pedro Bay port complicated, however the difficulty was reportedly holding up talks. Till that difficulty was settled, negotiations reportedly weren’t going to maneuver on to the broader coastwide points the grasp contract has to cowl.

Stacking Positives

Mongelluzzo said in his article that the ILWU and Pacific Maritime Affiliation (PMA) made an settlement on manning wants for the three automated terminals on the Ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seashore weeks in the past. Maybe that’s what the ILWU was referring to when it stated in a short assertion a pair weeks in the past that it had reached “tentative settlement” on “sure key points.” With the assertion being obscure, not in tandem with the PMA, and coming off disruptive ILWU labor motion, I used to be fast to conclude the assertion didn’t imply a lot.

Maybe the assertion nonetheless doesn’t imply a lot, and neither does the assertion of optimism for a tentative deal within the subsequent couple weeks, however stacking little positives on high of little positives can give explanation for a little bit of optimism.

Negotiations not being held up by the native union jurisdictional struggle on the Port of Seattle or the native manning points on the Ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seashore are definitely positives.

“Coastwide negotiations in San Francisco will now flip in earnest to the 2 main points but to be settled — wages and pension advantages,” Mongelluzzo reported.

Wages and pension advantages, nonetheless, will not be seemingly the one points the ILWU and PMA have to work by means of.

Automation Nonetheless Looms

From lengthy earlier than the negotiations started (on Might tenth, 2022), automation was anticipated to be a serious sticking level in talks that may seemingly maintain them up and create rivalry. Historical past has taught us that rivalry in ILWU talks tends to result in congestion on the West Coast ports. Shippers nonetheless have trigger to be cautious.

Whereas the PMA and ILWU have typically stored particulars of negotiations away from the media, the automation struggle did go public early within the course of with the perimeters arguing their level of views on the difficulty. The ILWU additionally tied automation into the Terminal-5 drama on the Port of Seattle.

Neither the PMA nor the ILWU has indicated settlement on the bigger difficulty of automation; nonetheless, maybe the reported decision of manning problems with automated terminals at Southern California’s ports is an effective omen on the automation struggle. Although shippers in all probability shouldn’t rely on that till a tentative settlement is reached.

One can solely hope that occurs within the subsequent couple weeks relatively than issues turning ugly on what the union considers an existential difficulty as the height season approaches.