- Thread Author
- #1
potentially crippling nationwide shutdown of port operations along the West and Gulf coasts was narrowly avoided early this morning, as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract.
The deal, reached after 15 months of often-acrimonious negotiations and with federal mediators heavily involved, covers over 22,000 dockworkers at 29 ports that handle nearly 40% of the nation's containerized cargo. The stakes were enormous; a strike would have instantly snarled global supply chains, spiked consumer prices, and delivered a severe shock to the U.S. economy just as it shows signs of stabilizing.
The deal, reached after 15 months of often-acrimonious negotiations and with federal mediators heavily involved, covers over 22,000 dockworkers at 29 ports that handle nearly 40% of the nation's containerized cargo. The stakes were enormous; a strike would have instantly snarled global supply chains, spiked consumer prices, and delivered a severe shock to the U.S. economy just as it shows signs of stabilizing.