Long Beach and Los Angeles Port Watchmen's Contract Extended Again to November 20 as Strike Deadline Is Pushed Back
Los Angeles County, California — The strike deadline at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has been extended again. The contract between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26 (ILWU Local 26), which had been set to expire at midnight on November 6, has been extended to November 20 by agreement of the parties, so the midnight deadline no longer takes effect.
This is the third postponement of the strike deadline since November 1; it had previously been pushed to November 4 twice and then to November 6. Talks resumed with assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, but no new labor agreement has been reached.
According to the PMA, Local 26 represents about 250 terminal watchmen, roughly 2 percent of the ILWU workforce at the two ports. Six container terminals at the two ports could be affected; by the PMA's figures, those terminals handle about 85 percent of cargo at the Port of Long Beach and about 33 percent at the Port of Los Angeles.
If the watchmen and security personnel represented by Local 26 strike and other union workers refuse to cross picket lines, vessel, yard and gate operations could all be interrupted. With the next three weeks falling in the peak import season, the industry fears disruption to holiday goods shipments and port congestion.
Source: Pacific Maritime Association
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 长滩港航拍（Wikimedia Commons，Planet Labs，CC BY-SA 4.0）
