Excerpts from the Journal of Commerce:
The chief negotiator for waterfront employers on the West Coast is optimistic that the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will reach a contract agreement this summer without a strike or lockout.
PMA President Jim McKenna predicted that an agreement will be reached in mid to late July. This prediction may still make cargo interests nervous, given the fact that the current six-year contract will expire on July 1, but it reflects the reality of the negotiation process.
McKenna emphasized that the 2014 contract negotiations will center on costly issues such as the Cadillac tax on the ILWU’s generous health-care plan, the dockworker pension plan and jurisdictional disputes, but the more controversial issues of technology and automation were largely resolved in the 2002 and 2008 contracts.