West Coast port workers approve contract extension

Longshore workers at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington officially ratified a three-year contract extension with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced late last week.

The union's coast balloting committee reviewed voting results from all longshore local unions and confirmed that 67 percent of members have approved the extension, ILWU officials said in a press release.

The current agreement was set to expire in July 2019, but the new pact will be extended to July 2022. The extension will increase wages, maintain health benefits and increase pensions from 2019 through 2022.

The approval followed a year-long debate and decision-making process that allowed every registered longshore worker along the West Coast to cast a ballot.

In late July, PMA officials announced that preliminary voting reports indicated the new pact would be approved.