http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_10028204

Tentative labor pact delivered

By Kris Hanson
Article Launched: 07/28/2008 11:43:30 PM PDT

Nearly five months of bargaining between longshore leaders and waterfront employers came to an end Monday, when a new tentative labor pact was reached for some 26,000 dockworkers along the West Coast.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association hammered out the final details of the six-year contract covering longshore workers at 29 ports from San Diego to Seattle.

Neither side released details of the deal, which still must be ratified by union and PMA members.

"The ILWU negotiating committee is very pleased and feels like they met their goals of good jobs, safer jobs and an agreement that will help dockworkers and nearby communities," union spokesman Craig Merrilees told The Associated Press.

Added PMA spokesman Kevin Elliott: "We are thrilled to have an agreement that is going to return the ports to a productive, safe and efficient state. And that is good for the economy, good for workers and it is good for the industry."

The current six-year contract covering dockworkers expired July 1 without a strike or lockout, with both sides insisting they wanted to keep the ports running smoothly - even if they had to keep talking after the deadline.

The decision was a welcome break for the teetering U.S. economy, since the billions of dollars in cargo handled by the 29 ports represents about 11 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.

During the last round of talks in 2002, the two

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sides hit a wall in late summer, causing employers to lock workers out for 10 days in retaliation - a maneuver that cost the national economy an estimated $1 billion in lost productivity per day. The dispute was resolved only through the intervention of a federal mediator.
This time, negotiators have worked feverishly toward a peaceful resolution, logging long hours on both holidays and weekends to reach an agreement.

This despite PMA accusations that longshoremen were dragging their feet on the job, causing productivity to drop up to 30 percent at ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland - claims the union say are grossly exaggerated.