Representatives for West Coast dockworkers urge union members to approve hard-won contract

Representatives of West Coast dockworkers are recommending that rank-and-file union members approve a tentative contract that their leaders reached with employers in February.

Difficult negotiations over the contract led to major disruptions of billions of dollars of international trade at seaports from San Diego to Seattle.

A caucus of 90 International Longshore and Warehouse Union delegates voted Friday to urge the broader membership to approve the five-year contract. Caucus delegates met this week in San Francisco to study the offer in detail.

The union said a final count of the rank-and-file members' votes will be held May 22.

Meanwhile, the tentative agreement restored labor peace — and the smoother flow of cargo — on the West Coast waterfront, which handles about $1 trillion of trade each year.