Issue link: https://pma.uberflip.com/i/1517839
Following more than a year of negotiations, PMA and the ILWU agreed to a new labor contract in 2023 that brought renewed labor stability to the West Coast waterfront. HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR New Coastwise Labor Contract Ratified Negotiators for PMA and the ILWU gather at the big table at the union's headquarters to launch negotiations for a new contract. The six-year agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2022, and will remain in effect through July 1, 2028. The contract provides for continued world-class wages and benefits for ILWU members while enabling terminal operators to keep investing in technologies to improve productivity, efficiency and throughput. The new contract also includes a letter of understanding for Double Flex container gate and yard operations to allow trucker transactions to begin at 0600 at major West Coast ports. This was the first major change in start times negotiated in the master contract in nearly 40 years. "This contract provides an important framework for the hard work ahead to overcome new competitive challenges and to continue to position the West Coast ports as destinations of choice for shippers worldwide," said Jim McKenna, who led negotiations for PMA in his final year as President and CEO. "From San Diego to Bellingham, these ports have long been the primary gateways for cargo coming into and leaving the United States, and our interests are aligned in ensuring they can effectively, and efficiently, handle the capacity and growth that drives economies and jobs.'' The deal was reached with the assistance of Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and hailed by President Biden as a model of successful collective bargaining during a year of turbulent labor relations nationally. The President invited PMA and ILWU leaders to a White House ceremony to mark the ratification of the agreement and said: "It's a good deal for workers, it's a good deal for companies, and it's a good deal for the United States of America." West Coast cargo volumes have rebounded significantly since ratification of the agreement, reversing earlier declines caused by shippers diverting cargo to competing port ranges during the extended negotiations. 12 2023 ANNUAL REPORT