ILWU, PMA REACH AGREEMENT ON NEW COASTWISE CONTRACT

ILWU, PMA REACH AGREEMENT ON NEW COASTWISE CONTRACT

   Terms for a new three-year contract were agreed upon Yesterday afternoon by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).
   "We are pleased to have reached an agreement to provide ILWU members with a package that rewards the hard work our membership puts forward every day at West Coast ports," said James Spinosa, ILWU chief negotiator and vice president.
   "This agreement ushers in a new era for the West Coast waterfront as we
move into the 21st century," said Joseph Miniace, president and CEO of the
PMA. "Working in partnership, the ILWU and the PMA will focus on meeting the global transportation needs of our customers."
   The West Coast waterfront includes some of the busiest ports in the
nation with more than 50 percent of all U.S. waterborne, containerized cargo
moving through these ports at an estimated 1999 value of $285 billion.
Details or the agreement were not available.