West Coast Dockworkers Ratify Contract

Nearly 90 percent of dockworkers have approved a multibillion dollar deal that formally ended the West Coast port labor dispute that shuttered West Coast ports and hamstrung Pacific Rim trade last fall.

Dockworkers and shipping companies announced separately Wednesday they had overwhelmingly approved a new six-year contract.

Slightly more than 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union voted for the deal, with nearly 900 opposed. It was the largest margin of victory for any longshoremen's contract, union officials said. Voter turnout was 85 percent.

"They understood the terms of the contract, the times it was negotiated in and the victory it represents," said Jim Spinosa, union president.

The contract takes effect Feb. 1 and should bring labor peace to 29 major ports that will modernize under the pact.

The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, also announced Wednesday that its member companies had "overwhelmingly" ratified the deal.

"Today we begin a new era at West Coast ports," association President Joseph Miniace said. "A modern waterfront will create new jobs, strengthen our economy and enable us to better maintain port security."

The deal boasts handsome benefits, including no-cost health insurance and a 60 percent increase in pensions. By 2008, a union member will receive an annual pension of $1,800 multiplied by the number of years worked — a 30-year veteran, for example, would get $54,000 per year in retirement.

"In a time when more working families than ever are struggling with rising health care costs and insecure retirements, the ILWU has won a historic contract which sets a much-needed benchmark in health care, pensions and living standards," said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka.

Salaries would increase 12 percent, giving the average longshoreman around $90,000 in annual pay. In exchange, union members would accept a new wave of computer technology that would speed the flow of goods through congested ports. Associated Press