June 29, 2008
No news is not necessarily good news when it comes to the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who are unlikely to settle the entire contract for some 26,000 West Coast longshore workers before the existing six-year agreement expires. But it isn't necessarily bad news either, say ILWU and the PMA officials. As of Friday, both sides were planning to spend the weekend at the bargaining table and are pushing to get the job done as soon as possible.
"If they can get it done, they will. But if it takes a little more time, I'm sure they'll take the time to do it right," said ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees.
"We're mindful that the clock is ticking," said PMA spokesman Steve Getzug. "We're working as quickly and as hard as we can to get an agreement."
Signs that the parties can get a new contract without the animosity that led to a 10-day lockout in 2002 include a mutual agreement that started the talks early and a recent tentative agreement on health and welfare benefits. Neither side is releasing details of that deal. Difficult issues still pending include a PMA proposal to eliminate the early morning hoot shift and reconfigure the workday into two 10-hour shifts.
A key upcoming date is July 14 when the ILWU Longshore Caucus is scheduled to meet, presumably to consider a full tentative agreement. The caucus consists of about 100 elected delegates whose job is to review the deal and decide whether to recommend it to the full membership for a vote.
Copyright 2008 The Cunningham Report