Clerical unit at San Pedro Ports ratifies labor pact

Unionized clerical workers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach agreed last night to ratify a new contract with the Harbor Employers Association (HEA), which represents management at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation's largest seaport complex. The contract, which was tentatively ratified last December, runs until June 30, 2016.

The action comes less than two weeks after bargaining units of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's (ILWU) Local 63 Office Clerical Unit (OCU) had rejected the proposed contract. The approximately 600 workers have remained on the job at their 14 employers during the past two weeks.

Details of the agreement were not made public.

In late November, the clerical workers, which were operating without a contract since mid-2010, walked off their jobs largely in protest to concerns that their jobs would be outsourced overseas. The HEA denied any plans to outsource the jobs.

Dockworkers represented by the ILWU honored the picket lines, shutting down the Port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest port, and dramatically curtailing operations at the adjacent Port of Long Beach, for eight days.

The strike ended Dec. 4 as both sides agreed to a tentative contract.