by Julia Pierrepont III

LONG BEACH, the United States, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach (POLB), showed confidence to a contract agreement reached last week between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which brought a sigh of relief to supply chain stakeholders and businesses across the United States and abroad.

"Remember, the PMA and the ILWU made a pact that there would be no shut down, no lock out, no strike. I think they complied with that commitment," Cordero told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Friday, adding that there had been no recent congestion at the POLB.

The tentative six-year contract will cover workers at all 29 West Coast ports. Their previous agreement with the PMA expired over one year ago. The terms of the new tentative agreement still must be approved by union members and ratified by both parties so details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

"While the final decision is up to our members, we feel our time at the bargaining table was well spent," ILWU President Willie Adams said in a statement. "The agreement represents the hard work of our rank and file and the sacrifices they made during the pandemic."

Executives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation, as well as the PMA and ILWU had all urged the Joe Biden Administration to appoint a mediator to help reach a deal, citing a 2022 report that estimated daily cost of nearly half a billion U.S. dollars to the U.S. economy - with some sources saying as high as 1 billion U.S. dollars per day - in the event of a port closure.

While the specific details of the tentative agreement are yet to be disclosed, Adams expressed gratitude to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su for her leadership throughout the negotiations.

The contract resolution came after months of mounting concerns over shipping delays, disruptions and shutdowns at West Coast ports from San Diego to Seattle. These have had a problematic impact on the reliable flow of goods through the ports and raised alarm bells among supply chain stakeholders of potentially worse problems to come.

The PMA and various business and shipping associations had publicly accused the ILWU of staging disruptive work actions, such as work slowdowns, withholding specialized workers and deliberately conducting unscheduled inspections. They contended that these actions disrupted normal operations, caused vessels to miss their scheduled departure slots, and in some instances, even brought terminal operations to a halt.

The ILWU has consistently denied these charges, attributing slowdowns to individual workers frustration at not having an official agreement in place to protect them.

Cordero also expressed his pride in the port workers that have continued to earn the POLB top marks for service, praising the men and women who have worked hard on the docks since the COVID-19 pandemic began to help move an unprecedented amount of cargo.

The impact of shipping delays extended beyond the immediate economic cost. Shippers had already begun diverting cargoes to the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast ports, leading to a decline in cargo volumes at the main gateway for U.S. trade with Asia, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Such diversions, if they became permanent, could have lasting repercussions on the local economy surrounding the affected ports.

Cordero told Xinhua that it remains to be seen how much of that diverted shipping will come back to the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, but he's confident they will both continue to be competitive.

"For the Port of Long Beach, we recognize that shippers have options and that's healthy for the industry," he said. "But we also know there will be a good percentage that does come back to the nation's largest gateway simply because there is an important cost advantage with us."

"We're going to remain very competitive - particularly with cargo from Asia," he told Xinhua.

The contract's good news came at a time when post-COVID shipping is down worldwide as many consumers return to making at least some of their purchases from local retail merchants instead of buying the majority of their goods online and having them shipped in. This has led to double digit decreases in shipping traffic at most ports around the world.

Given the gravity of the situation, the recent agreement between the PMA and the ILWU provides a glimmer of hope. However, concerns remain as a deal awaits full approval.

The next step in the process involves the ILWU ratification procedures, which include a Contract Caucus composed of delegates from all 29 local chapters along the West Coast. The delegates will review the agreement and make a recommendation to the rank-and-file union members, who will vote on its acceptance. This process typically takes a few months to complete.

All eyes are now on the ILWU's ratification process in the hope it will pave the way for stable and efficient operation at West Coast ports in the years to come.