Dive Brief:

• Saturday night saw the first full-time, full-force shift in nine months after dockworkers and shippers reached a tentative agreement.

• The dockworkers had been working without a contract since July 1, and work slowdowns and eventually stoppages have created a massive backlog that could take months to get through.

• The agreement must be approved by a union vote and was reached after involvement by West Coast politicians of all stripes and the Obama Administration.

Dive Insight:

The work stoppage over the President’s Day holiday may have been the last straw after months of work slowdowns since July. In any case, mayors, governors, senators, and cabinet members from the Obama Administration finally got involved in these talks last week. 

Last Friday night, the breakthrough that had eluded negotiations for months came about. There are no details about the agreement, and the union must still vote on it. Still, it looks like the nightmare is over and work on dealing with a massive backlog of shipments has begun.

“The congestion, slowdowns and suspensions over the last few months have had a significant economic impact on the entire supply chain and those who rely on the West Coast ports to move their goods and products around the world and throughout the country,” National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

“We congratulate the ILWU and PMA for finally coming to agreement on a new labor contract," he continued. "It is now time for the parties to quickly ratify the deal and immediately focus on clearing out the crisis-level congestion and backlog at the ports. We also thank Secretary Perez and the administration for engaging the parties on this critically important economic and supply chain priority.”