BACK TO WORK

L.A. Port Workers to End Strike

Tentative deal made.

It’s back to work on the Los Angeles and Long Beach docks on Wednesday after leaders of the 800-member clerical union agreed to end a weeklong strike that had crippled the region’s docks. A tentative deal was made late Tuesday night between International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Union and the Harbor Employers’ Association after a marathon round of negotiations backed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was a union leader prior to holding elected office. Although the local chapter of the ILWU is relatively tiny, the strike was backed by 10,000 regional members of the ILWU—and the strike had caused 20 ships to be diverted to rival ports in Oakland, Calif.; Ensenada, Mexico; and Panama. The strike began Nov. 27, when the clerical workers’ union had expressed frustration over jobs being shipped overseas.