Long Beach Ports Reopen as Strike Ends

Thousands of workers returned to their jobs in Long Beach Wednesday morning after an eight-day walk-off that affected thousands of workers and billions of dollars in cargo.

The Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors have reopened, allowing dockworkers to resume loading and unloading ships that had been stuck offshore or elsewhere for days, according to Los Angeles port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

A tentative six-year labor contract was signed with 14 employers late Tuesday giving union workers "new portections preventing jobs from being outsourced."  The deal will not be official until it is ratified by vote by members of the union.

The agreement ends a battle between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Unit that began eight days ago over the outsourcing of jobs. The strike affected 10 out of 14 harbor terminals, over 10,000 port workers and a fragile U.S. economy.  Because workers refused to cross strikers' picket lines, 20 ships were diverted to other ports while others docked offshore while waiting for a resolution.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had pushed for negotiations between the two parties.  "This has been a long eight days,"said the mayor when announcing the deal.  "But now it's a great day for everybody now that a deal has been reached."

The strike was the biggest work stoppage at the port since a 10-day management lockout in 2002.

"Its the end of a very long journey," said the chief negotiator for the Harbor Employers Association, Stephen L. Berry.  He also noted that there will be "no outsourcing under this contract."

The draft of the contract covers a six year period but is retroactive to 2010, meaning the contract will expire in 2016.