SAN FRANCISCO >>West Coast dockworkers overwhelmingly approved a new six-year contract today, a union spokesman said. The vote formally ends a protracted labor dispute that hamstrung Pacific trade last fall until the federal government intervened. West Coast
dockworkers
OK contractAssociated Press
Nearly 90 percent of International Longshore and Warehouse Union members who voted approved the multibillion dollar deal, which should bring labor peace and modernization to 29 major ports. Voter turnout was 85 percent.
Member companies of the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, earlier ratified the deal. Union members began voting by mail earlier this month and sent bundles of ballots to San Francisco headquarters for the official count.
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.
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.
Pacific Maritime Association
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
