It’s been anything but quiet on the western front.
The past year has seen three heated disputes in the Pacific Northwest in which the ILWU is fighting to preserve what the union believes is its jurisdiction.
In Southern California, the Office Clerical Unit of ILWU Local 63, an unpredictable affiliate of the ILWU, has been working without a contract for two years and could shut down the nation’s largest port complex if negotiations get out of hand.