According to a joint statement released by the ILWU and PWA, “The parties have agreed to take a 72-hour break from negotiations on a new coast-wide contract while the ILWU attends to an unrelated negotiation taking place in the Pacific Northwest. During this break, starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8, through 8 a.m. on Friday, July 11, the parties have agreed to extend the previous six-year contract, which expired last week. The PMA and ILWU are negotiating a new contract covering nearly 20,000 longshore workers at 29 west coast port.”.

Some believe that the break from negotiations will limit the impact of local entities interfering with the progress of the ILWU contract negotiations.

Journal of Commerce