The busiest year on record so far for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could run aground if bargaining between a small security workers union and shipping companies isn’t resolved.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Local 26, which represents about 250 watchmen who provide security at individual shipping terminals, has authorized a strike that could start at 5 p.m. Sunday.
The union represents about 2% of ILWU’s workforce, but their work is spread across six terminals — split between Long Beach and Los Angeles — that handle more than half of the complex’s cargo, including 85% at the Long Beach seaport.
If the strike is carried out, officials say thousands of other unionized dockworkers — the longshoremen, marine clerks and foremen — could honor the picket lines and not go to work.
That would halt much of the work at the ports — which handle more than 31% of the nation’s containerized cargo — just as the heavy shipping season for holiday merchandise begins to gather steam.
Negotiations have carried on since July 2025, after the contract expired between the union and Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the operators of all 12 terminals at the port complex.
PMA said in a statement it has “put a strong economic package on the table,” that includes wage increases and pension improvements. But no deal has been struck and “significant differences remain.”
“A timely agreement matters not only to the parties at the table, but to the entire Southern California supply chain and to the local, state and national economies that depend on it,” the statement read. “We urge Local 26 to work with us to reach an agreement that avoids a disruption at the nation’s two busiest ports.”
A spokesperson for the union did not immediately respond to requests for comment or say when members voted to authorize the strike.
In the meantime, the ports’ administrators said Wednesday they are closely watching negotiations and remain hopeful some resolution will come about ahead of the weekend.
“Although the Port of Long Beach is not a party to the negotiations, we want to assure our customers that we remain committed to moving cargo through our port safely and reliably,” said Long Beach Port CEO Noel Hacegaba.
Agreements for other unionized dockworkers expire in 2028.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are by far the nation’s largest container port complex, moving more than 20 million containers in 2025. That trade carried a value of more than $1.6 trillion last year.
In Long Beach last month, the seaport saw a record 997,177 containers — 25% more than last September — in a jump that included 509,390, more than 31% higher than the same month last year.
Hacegaba said that, “While the affected watchmen provide security within individual terminals, port-wide security provided by the Harbor Patrol and the Long Beach Police Department continues uninterrupted during negotiations.”