Will West Coast longshore labor finally come to terms?

As the long Labor Day weekend approaches, shippers are being assured that dockworkers and management at West Coast ports may finally agree to terms.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced that they have reached a “tentative” agreement on terms for health benefits, subject to agreement on the other issues in the negotiations.

At the same time, however, the parties have agreed not to discuss the terms of this tentative agreement as negotiations continue.

It should be noted that the word “tentative” is described by most wordsmiths as “not certain or fixed; provisional.”

Maintenance of health benefits (MOB) is an important part of the contract being negotiated between employers represented by the PMA and workers represented by the ILWU.

The contract being negotiated covers nearly 20,000 longshore workers at 29 West Coast ports. The previous agreement expired at 5 p.m. on July 1, 2014. Talks began on May 12 and are continuing.