Longshore Contract Caucus Scheduled To Meet March 30

A weeklong “longshore contract caucus" opens March 30 in San Francisco, where 90 “delegates” representing the 29 West Coast ports will vote up or down whether to send a contract proposal on to the 13,000 International Longshore and Warehouse Union members for secret balloting with a positive recommendation, said union officials. They wouldn’t speculate how long the balloting process might take. The IWLU reached a tentative labor deal with the Pacific Maritime Association last month (see 1502230002). Despite the agreement, workers from ILWU's Local 10 were dismissed from the Port of Oakland March 9 and 11 "after they refused to work due to a dispute over staffing levels," according to the port (see 1503120022). Representatives at ILWU’s central headquarters in San Francisco referred queries to Local 10 President Melvin MacKay, who did not respond to requests for comment.