The head of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) has said that that current bargaining practices between the parties in the West Coast longshore contract talks are “not sustainable.”
James McKenna said that because the PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have been busy implementing the new contract, they have not formally discussed the potential changes.
This, he said, invites outside intervention because the process is slowed down each time talks are held when a new change to a contract is proposed.
Mr McKenna suggested that future bargaining might be more productive if the negotiators around the table focused on the big issues such as wages, pensions and health care.