L.A. Port Complex to Add 3,000 Workers

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ollowing weeks of negotiations, shipping companies and union leaders agreed Thursday to add 3,000 dockworkers to the Los Angeles port complex, the Associated Press reported.

The Los Angeles port is the nation's largest and is battling a growing backlog of cargo traffic, AP said.

The plan between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association called for promoting 1,000 "casual workers," who are typically hired by the day as needed, to a higher-skilled jobs status that brings closer to becoming fully registered Longshoremen.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were nine ships at the outer anchorage awaiting access to the ports, according to the Marine Exchange, which monitors ship movements, AP said. Usually, three or four ships are forced to wait entry per day, but the average since the beginning of the month has been between 14 and 15, AP said.

Earlier this month, port clerks and shipping firms at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach reached a new contract agreement that averted a strike at the two busiest U.S. container ports.

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