SIMIC

The pending negotiations also come amid fears from shippers that an impasse could result in further disruption in a market that can ill afford it. Some cargo owners have already begun to shift their volumes to the East and Gulf coasts to avoid any potential problems, reports IHS Media.

The existing contract expires July 1, and given the widespread supply chain disruptions, the negotiations will be the most closely watched in years, particularly by Washington.

"We're optimistic about negotiations and look forward to sitting down with the employers in May," Willie Adams, ILWU international president, said in a statement.

"When the handkerchief drops, we'll be ready," Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) president Jim McKenna, who will lead the employers in the negotiations, said. Any cautious optimism is based on the cooperation that was demonstrated by longshore workers and employers in handling the import surge that is now in its 20th month amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The union and the employers sat down early on in the pandemic and negotiated pandemic protocols that allowed the cargo to keep moving," Mr Adams said, adding that union negotiators believe they will get a "fair agreement" that protects both the safety and economic well-being of dockworkers.

Citing the fragility of the supply chain, the National Retail Federation in a February 24 letter to the PMA and ILWU urged the parties to launch negotiations earlier than usual this year.

While that apparently won't happen, Mr McKenna said the May 12 start date falls within the typical April-May time frame of past negotiations.

Neither the ILWU nor the PMA has spoken publicly as to what issues they view as crucial in this year's negotiations. However, the union in recent years has publicly opposed the spread of automation on the West Coast. The computerisation of documentation was negotiated by the two sides in the 2002 contract, and that resulted in the loss of some marine clerk jobs. Automation of cargo-handling equipment was codified in the 2008 contract, which has cost the union thousands of general longshore jobs.

Employers, on the other hand, have noted that in order to continue handling record cargo volumes each year on waterfront property that cannot be expanded, some West Coast terminals will have no choice but to automate, as automation allows terminals to almost double the cargo volumes they can handle on the same footprint compared with operating manually.