Tentative Labor Deal Reached in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

The Office Clerical Unit (local 63) of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and its employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have apparently come to a last-minute labor agreement. Sources from the West Coast say that both sides have tentatively agreed to a new contract on Thursday afternoon. The agreement staves off a possible labor action which could have cost shippers billions of dollars and brought commerce to a grinding halt.

The deal comes in the wake of Tuesday’s impasse in negotiations and also avoids a possible work stoppage by an estimated 15,000-member ILWU workforce, who could have honored the picket lines had the 750 clerical workers gone on strike. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. As much as 40% of foreign containerized cargo enters the United States through the Southern California port complex.