Today the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) voted to ratify the contract that union leaders and the Pacific Maritime Association had tentatively agreed to earlier this year. (See here and here for more.) The ILWU says that 82 percent of its members voted to approve the five-year contract. Also,

The new agreement provides approximately 20,000 good-paying jobs in 29 West Coast port communities.  The contract will maintain excellent health benefits, improve wages, pensions and job safety protections; limit outsourcing of jobs and provide an improved system for resolving job disputes.

On that last: Let’s hope so. The AP notes

Now the two sides must work to restore confidence that West Coast ports remain a reliable gateway for international commerce. Importers and exporters will soon have another option in the expanded Panama Canal, which would allow larger ships to ply the route between the East and Gulf coasts and Asia. Ports on the Pacific coast of Mexico and Canada also are vying for U.S. business.