Update: 15.06.2023

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the ILWU published a joint statement announcing they reached a tentative agreement "on a new six-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports."

According to the statement, the agreement was reached with the help of the Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su after a series of meetings that took place in the past few days.

While no details of the agreement were communicated, PMA President James McKenna and ILWU President Willie Adams said, "We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce in keeping our ports operating.”

“We are also pleased to turn our full attention back to the operation of the West Coast Ports,” they added. The tentative agreement would still need to be ratified by both parties. 

Original article: 14.06.2023

The intervention by the US Administration in the labour dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) - the union representing port workers on the US West Coast - and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) had a positive effect this week. According to a report by the Journal of Commerce (JOC), the two parties agreed to a cooling-off period during a meeting on Monday.

Over the past week, dockworkers at key ports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Seattle and Oakland, carried out several disruptive practices that hindered the flow of work at the ports and caused the shutdown of several container terminals. With a cooling-off period in place, the two sides are expected to continue their negotiations, with the topic of wages high on the agenda.

Cargo handling operations were stable on Tuesday morning, and operations in Seattle and Tacoma were "kind of back to normal", wrote JOC, citing local sources.