SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — After nine months of contentious negotiations, the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced Friday a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports. Over the weekend both parties got to work clearing up the freight backlog.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that is good for workers and for the industry,” said PMA president James McKenna and ILWU president Bob McEllrath in a joint statement. “We are also pleased that our ports can now resume full operations.” The deal was reached with assistance from U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Deputy Director Scot Beckenbaugh.
For many bike suppliers the current backlog is about two months, meaning bikes and parts are showing up two months later than expected. Some suppliers are reporting even longer waits. Though a new contract is in place suppliers expect freight will be delayed into summer leading to shortages of some products and adding a variety of costs to imports this spring.
