West Coast dockworkers union ratifies 5-year contract
Source: AP
BY JUSTIN PRITCHARD
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The labor dispute that hobbled international trade through West Coast seaports earlier this year officially ended Friday when the union representing dockworkers announced its members had ratified a five-year contract.
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union voted 82 percent in favor of the deal, according to spokesman Craig Merrilees. Union leaders had reached a tentative deal in February with the companies that own massive oceangoing ships that bring cargo to and from ports and operate the terminals where that cargo is loaded and unloaded.
About 13,000 union members were eligible to vote.
Earlier this week, the Pacific Maritime Association of shipping lines and port terminal operators said its members passed the contract. That made the union's approval the last step.
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