Next Steps for L.A./Long Beach Unclear After OCU Fails to Ratify Contract

It remains unclear what happens next after clerical members of the longshoremen's union rejected a contract for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Port officials were reporting no work disruptions following the Feb. 6 vote, in which all 16 unions of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Unit voted against the contract that was agreed to Dec. 4 (see ITT's Online Archives 12120534).

There were initial reports that only a handful of the OCU units rejected the contract, but the Harbor Employers Association released a statement saying "the harbor employers were formally notified by the union today that, in voting on Wednesday night, all 16 OCU bargaining units failed to ratify the December 4 tentative agreements."

Despite repeated requests, neither side has indicated whether there will be further negotiations, or where other actions are likely. At least seven of the eight major L.A./Long Beach terminals were shut down for several days in November and December when the ILWU longshoremen refused to cross the clerical workers picket lines (see ITT's Online Archives 12120317).

The National Retail Federation called for labor and management to keep ports open despite last week's rejection of a labor contract between the union and the Harbor Employers Association. “We are extremely disappointed by this vote and strongly urge the parties to work through their differences without any kind of disruption,” said NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold. Contract ratification is necessary to give retailers and other industries that rely on the ports the predictability that need to make long-term plans and get back to growing their businesses and jobs, he said. “We can't afford another shutdown.”