Friday has been undersigned the new quinquennial contract of the harbour workers of West Coast the USA



past Friday the union International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has approved of the new contract of the duration of five years that regards approximately 20.000 harbour workers of the 29 ports of West American Coast. The green light, with 82% of the ballots in favor of the new contract that has expiration 1° July 2019, places term to the state of uncertainty that lasts from last February when, in order to ask for the prosecuzione of strikes that had in the months precedence repeatedly determined the block of the activities in the main ports of the western coast of the USA, the ILWU had undersigned a temporary agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), the organism that in the negotiations with the unions represents the shipowning companies and the terminaliste societies that operate in the ports of West Coast. The contracted precedence ratified era from the ILWU in 2008 with 75% of the ballots to favor.

"the negotiations for this contracted - it has emphasized the international president of the ILWU, Robert McEllrath - have been between longest and difficult of our recent history. Our cohesion and the hard job from the legal Committee have returned this fair result possible".

"This contracted - it has found the president and managing director of the PMA, Jim McKenna - supplies a base important for the hard job to complete in order to exceed the new competitive challenges and in order to continue to do so as that the ports of West Coast are chosen as destination from the shippers of all the world. From San Diego to Bellingham, these ports constitute give along time the main gateway for the goods that enters and exits from the United States and our interests are faces to assure that they can effectively and efficiently manage the increase of the ability that develops the economy and creates places of work".

"This - the mayor of Los Angeles City has commented, Eric Garcetti - is a great day for the port of Los Angeles City, the first port American. Now that the associates of the International Longshore and Warehouse Maritime Union and of the Pacific Association have ratified the agreement on the harbour job on which we have worked to February, can go ahead together in order to make of our port the best one of the world and in order to develop our economy". "The approval of this employment contract - it has agreed the executive director of the port of Los Angeles City, Gene Seroka - allows us to proceed quickly towards the ulterior improvement of our competitiveness. In last the 90 days the activity of job and management in all the logistic chain of Saint Pedro Bay has completed excellent progresses eliminating the waits of the ships, restoring the punctuality of the services and improving the entrance and the escape of the goods from the terminals".

"This new understanding - the president of the Port of Long Beach has declared, Doug Drummond - is of exceptional importance for the social parts and demonstrates that working together we can constitute a partnership that will continue to contribute to the improvement of this economy and to create places of work in all the United States".