Port of Olympia has reached a tentative deal on first contract with new union
The Port of Olympia has reached a tentative agreement on a first contract with its new union, Executive Director Alex Smith announced at Monday’s port commission meeting.
That union is International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 47B.
Smith said the port and union have a tentative deal on “all terms, all provisions of a contract, including wages.”
She acknowledged that it has been a multi-year process and thanked negotiating teams on both sides, including a mediator with the Washington state Public Employment Relations Commission.
“She helped us see how we could get to an agreement,” Smith said. “So good news on that and hopefully we will have a contract to bring to the commission at our next business meeting.” The next meeting is Oct. 28.
In April 2022, 17 port employees announced they had formed the union, The Olympian reported.
At the time, union officials said the new collective bargaining unit represented all full-time and regular part-time employees performing maintenance, technical services or operations in facilities maintenance, Swantown Boatworks and Swantown Marina departments at the port.
It wasn’t an easy process. As negotiations dragged on, union representatives, as well as others in the community, attended port meetings and frequently spoke out during public comment, urging the port to get a deal done.
“I ask the commission to leave behind your (former) executive’s excuses in avoiding an agreement,” Longshoreman Robert Rose said in October 2023. “ ... No more excuses, no more delays, tell your lawyers and executive team to cut it out and that time is up.”
One of the sticking points was money, former port Commissioner Joe Downing said.
“I guess I could say this: It comes down to money. The size of their ask is more than the port is willing to pay. It’s a pretty big gap,” Downing told The Olympian last December.
After Smith was named executive director, she made clear in an interview with The Olympian that she wanted to help.
“It’s very clear there is frustration on both sides because of the pace of negotiations. What I would love to do is meet with the union without any other port staff and say, ‘I’m here to listen and want to engage in good faith negotiations and do right by you guys and get the contract done soon.’
“They also have a schedule for mediated sessions, so I want to respect the process our port staff and union have been going through so far. But I definitely want to lean in and be helpful and add value to the extent I can.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
