The ILWU announced today that it has reached a landmark agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) that will benefit workers, the shipping industry, consumers and our economy. ILWU leaders urged ratification of the proposed agreement, saying that it upholds the core principles the ILWU brought to the negotiating table. This landmark agreement is a victory for longshore workers and their families, and a win-win for business, labor and our national economy, said James Spinosa, ILWU International President.

We worked in good faith with PMA and succeeded in bringing new technology to our ports while achieving vital pension and economic security, strong health care benefits and safety protections for our workers and their families. This is a momentous day for our Union . For more than 40 years, the ILWU has worked hand-in-hand with management to bring new technology to our nation’s ports. The ILWU looks forward to working with PMA to making West Coast ports even more efficient and profitable through the new technology enhancements in this contract.

And, as part of this agreement, the ILWU has secured critical pension protection for its workers and retirees. The ILWU has historically fought for pension security and this issue was a top priority in these negotiations. The bottom line is that the increased efficiency and cost savings resulting from the technology improvements in this contract now rightfully result in pension protection for ILWU members and their families. Other key components of the agreement include sound and secure health care benefits for longshore workers and their families, increased wages and important new safety provisions that will help protect workers on the docks Longshore workers risk their lives daily in the country’s second most hazardous profession.

Already this year, five workers have died on the job. Going to work shouldn’t be a life or death matter and this agreement helps ensure that workers are at reduced risk of injury and deadly harm. Finally, this new six-year contract brings much needed stability to the shipping industry. U.S. ports and waterways handle more than 2 billion tons of cargo each year. Earlier this week at the National Industrial Transportation League meeting in Anaheim, ILWU emphasized its commitment to achieving common ground with the shipping industry to help strengthen our economy.

This contract achieves that goal. This agreement is living proof that the collective bargaining process works. Although our negotiations often faced considerable challenges, the bargaining procedures used in the West Coast longshore industry for more than 60 years continue to produce labor-management peace, prosperity and progress, ILWU President Spinosa said. I want to especially thank AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, who was an important partner to the ILWU throughout this process, and deserves extraordinary praise for his leadership at the negotiating table.

I also want to thank all of our members who have worked diligently at the docks during these difficult times. We go to the docks with the goal of putting in a hard day’s work and getting goods to consumers. And that’s what we did and will continue to do each and every day. “By meeting the needs of dock workers for health care, job security, economic security, safety and good pensions while also addressing important technology issues, the ILWU has negotiated a truly historic contract for its members, said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, who praised ILWU President Spinosa and the ILWU Coast Committee for their leadership and skill throughout the long and difficult contract negotiations.