Will the ILWU announce a strike for US port workers by July 31, 2022?
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The ILWU has approximately 40,000 members in over 50 local unions in the states of California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii. On May 10, 2022, negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement covering more than 22,000 dockworkers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports began, prior to the expiration of the existing deal on June 30. The labor contract being negotiated is one between employers who operate marine terminals and shipping lines represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and dockworkers represented by the ILWU. The talks will be particularly delicate this year because the U.S. continues to experience historic supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with extraordinary cargo volume from pent-up demand. There is concern that current negotiations might fail, resulting in an official strike of union workers. This market will resolve to "Yes" if any US-based local union(s) or leadership of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) declares or announces a strike by July 31, 2022, 11:59:59 PM ET which affects any US-based local union(s) of the ILWU. Otherwise, this market will resolve to "No". For the purpose of this market, if an announcement is made that a strike will occur on a date within the market timeframe (at any point between May 20, 2022, 12:00:00 PM ET and the resolution time of July 31, 2022, 11:59:59 PM ET), this market will resolve to "Yes" regardless of whether the strike later occurs. The primary resolution source for this market will be official information from the ILWU via official press release or announcement, or information released through their web presence (https://www.ilwu.org/), however other credible media may be used.