OCU Votes to Reject the Proposed Contract

The Office Clerical Unit (OCU) of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILA) Local 63 of at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports voted down the contract proposal that ended the December strike. On Thursday, Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association, who are the harbor employers, were formally notified by the union that in voting all 16 OCU bargaining units failed to ratify the Dec. 4 tentative agreements. 

The OCU has been working without a contract since Jun 2010. The Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association said the nation's largest port complex was, however, working normally as of last Thursday. Since the OCU has 16 bargaining units, it is unclear whether each company that employs OCU workers has its own contract. The question remains whether all of the agreements had to be approved to make the contracts valid, or if those agreements that had to be approved would be considered valid while the others had to be renegotiated.

 Although port operations have not been affected at this time, the uncertainty created by this situation has caused concern over disruptions if another round of west coast port closures occurs.

We are monitoring of the situation and will continue to provide the latest information as we receive it. Please contact your move manager if you have any questions.