Three of the more than a dozen bargaining units representing office clerical workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach sent employers and union leaders scrambling Thursday by rejecting a tentative contract agreement that was reached in December.
The Office Clerical Unit of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 and waterfront employers were meeting Thursday to develop a response to the surprising vote that took place late Wednesday.
Union and management representatives on Thursday were attempting to determine what the next move should be. One school of thought believes that all units must approve the agreement or there is no contract. Another view is that the contract is valid at those units that approved the agreement, and negotiations should resume with the three that rejected it.
