LA and Long Beach Watchmen Talks Extended to November 20

The Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26 have agreed to extend their contract through November 20, with additional talks scheduled during that period, PMA said in a November 6 statement. The employer group said it “remains committed to reaching a fair agreement at the bargaining table that avoids disruption at the nation’s two busiest ports.”

The November 20 date is the latest in a series of short extensions. On October 30, PMA said the two sides had signed an extension through 5 p.m. Pacific time on November 4, and that negotiations would continue with assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. On November 4, PMA said the contract had been extended again, through midnight Pacific time on November 6, with talks set to continue that Friday with the same federal mediators.

Local 26 represents about 250 watchmen, PMA said. In its November 4 update, the association said that group is roughly 2 percent of the ILWU workforce at the ports, but that a strike by the watchmen “would put at risk operations at terminals that handle more than half of the ports’ cargo, including roughly 85% at Long Beach and 33% at Los Angeles.” The October 30 statement used the same cargo-share figures for the terminals where the watchmen work.

PMA’s public statements do not describe the remaining bargaining issues, do not say whether a strike has been authorized, and do not report any current work stoppage. This article therefore does not treat a shutdown as a fact. What the employer group has said is that it wants an agreement that avoids disruption, and that the current extension runs through November 20.

Los Angeles and Long Beach are the main West Coast gateway for trans-Pacific container freight. A stoppage at terminals that handle a large share of those ports’ cargo would, if it occurred, delay inbound containers and the rail and truck moves that follow. No PMA statement issued through November 6 reports that such a stoppage has begun.

What it means for manufacturers

Until November 20, the useful action is preparedness, not a reroute of every ocean booking. Manufacturers that receive parts or finished goods through San Pedro Bay should know which inbound containers are already on the water, which purchase orders are due to ship in the next three weeks, and which items have too little safety stock to absorb a delay at the terminal or on the rail ramp. If talks fail or the deadline is not extended again, that list is the set of orders to divert, pull forward, or air-freight — decisions that are cheaper to plan than to improvise.

A practical next step is to pull open purchase orders with a West Coast discharge, flag those that would stock out within two to four weeks of a missed delivery, and tell the freight forwarder now which alternative gateways you would accept. Our notes on how to prevent stockouts and diesel, freight costs, and inventory cover the inventory side of a delay. For broader freight context, see our logistics and freight roundup.

Sources

• Pacific Maritime Association, “Statement from the Pacific Maritime Association on Negotiations with ILWU Local 26 at the Ports of LA and Long Beach” (Nov. 6, 2026)
• Pacific Maritime Association, “Updated Statement on Negotiations With ILWU Local 26” (Nov. 4, 2026)
• Pacific Maritime Association, “PMA Statement on Contract Extension With ILWU Local 26” (Oct. 30, 2026)

Additional sources

• PMA statements and press releases index, which also lists a November 4 afternoon update that talks were continuing past the 5 p.m. Pacific deadline, and an October 27 statement that PMA would continue to negotiate through a November 1 deadline and beyond if necessary.