Market Watch – by LAURA STEVENS, ERICA E. PHILLIPS
West Coast port employers and their union said they reached a tentative five-year agreement on a new contract late Friday. The pact brings an end to a nine-month standoff that resulted in significant slowdowns at the ports.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association were locked in negotiations all day Friday after the White House sent Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez to urge the two groups to come to an agreement. He threatened to send the parties to Washington, D.C., if the situation wasn’t resolved by the end of the day.
Union employees, as well as members of the maritime association, will need to ratify the contract.
“After more than nine months of negotiations, we are pleased to have reached an agreement that is good for workers and for the industry,” said maritime association President James McKenna and union President Bob McEllrath, in a joint statement.
The two sides didn’t release details of the agreement. Perez said the ports would resume full operations Saturday evening.
The main sticking point in the negotiations was the issue of arbitration, Perez said late Friday in a conference call with reporters. Currently, four regional arbitrators serve as judges in disputes between union workers and employers. That system will change under the new agreement, he said, though he declined to elaborate other than to say it will ensure fair treatment.
The White House expressed gratitude to Perez in a statement late Friday, saying the agreement was “a huge relief for our economy—particularly the countless American workers, farmers, and businesses that have been affected by the dispute and those facing even greater disruption and costs with further delays.”
A pact would be welcome news to shippers whose goods have been delayed for weeks by alleged work slowdowns, some suspended nighttime and weekend operations and continuing congestion at ports along the West Coast—particularly at Los Angeles and Long Beach. It is expected to be months, however, before cargo snarls untangle and shipping returns to normal.
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/west-coast-port-employers-union-reach-tentative-pact-2015-02-21
“Currently, four regional arbitrators serve as judges in disputes between union workers and employers. That system will change under the new agreement, he said, though he declined to elaborate other than to say it will ensure fair treatment.”
Hmm… sounds like a secret court to me with all control going to the government. Sounds like they are attempting to setup policies in order to control the ports for any future conflicts. Problem-reaction-solution anyone?
jew solution?