Labor Contract Clash Hangs Over Hamstrung U.S. Ports

With a near-record 75 container ships waiting outside America’s largest port complex in southern California, union dockworkers have strengthened their indispensable role in the supply chain. But the expiration of about 15,000 West Coast dockworkers’ contracts next summer could throw a wrench in plans to clear the backlogs.

When the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which acts as a broker for 70 ocean carriers and terminal operators, last got together to discuss contracts in 2014, West Coast ports faced months of slowdowns.