LA-Long Beach Watchmen Strike Postponed to Wednesday as Talks Extend

A strike threat at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports has been pushed back to 5 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after roughly 250 watchmen and their maritime employers agreed to a three-day contract extension.

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) confirmed the extension with Local 26 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Local 26 represents port security guards who handle gate security and cargo watch duties at the nation's two largest container gateways. Negotiations will continue with the assistance of federal mediators. The labor dispute itself remains unresolved.

"PMA remains committed to reaching a fair agreement at the bargaining table that avoids disruption at the nation's two busiest ports," the employers' group said in a statement. The union has not provided comment on the matter.

What does a watchmen walkout actually change for cargo flows?

The numbers explain the risk. Local 26 watchmen staff terminal entry and exit points across both ports, where cargo passes through. Their terminals handle roughly 85 percent of cargo moving through the Port of Long Beach and 33 percent at the Port of Los Angeles, even though the watchmen comprise only about 2 percent of the ILWU's total workforce at the San Pedro Bay complex.

If they walk, vessel, yard and gate operations at the affected terminals could be suspended. The PMA says full-time watchmen earn an average of more than $170,000, with fully paid health care and pension benefits. The union has not disputed that figure publicly, but it has also said nothing at all. What the watchmen are demanding remains unstated in public record.

The extension buys time, not certainty. Local 26's contract expired in July 2023, and the guards have worked under rolling extensions since. According to the PMA, the two sides have met regularly for more than a year without making headway on a deal. A three-day extension after thirteen months of talks suggests the gap is structural, not procedural.

The watchmen hold a separate contract from the rest of the ILWU workforce, which secured a six-year agreement in summer 2023. That division matters. The Wall Street Journal reported that the PMA fears other unionized longshore workers — crane operators and container-yard workers among them — would refuse to cross picket lines if the guards strike. The report is a concern attributed to the employer side, not a confirmed union position.

Why the timing compounds the exposure

A stoppage would land on a port complex already under strain. Container dwell times have surged in recent months amid an import influx, creating a backlog for cargo moving inland via rail. The twin gateways handled more than 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) collectively in September, with volumes pushed higher by uncertainty at the Panama Canal and the conflict in the Middle East.

For apparel and soft goods importers, the exposure is concrete. Terminals covering the overwhelming majority of Long Beach throughput sit behind gates these 250 workers control. A suspension of gate operations on a base of 2 million-plus monthly TEUs would add dwell days to shipments already delayed by rail congestion.

What sourcing teams should do before Wednesday

The decision this forces is straightforward: importers with cargo routed through San Pedro Bay should confirm terminal exposure against the 85 percent and 33 percent coverage figures, identify divert options through other West Coast or Gulf gateways before Nov. 4, and track the mediator-led sessions. If talks fail again at 5 p.m. Wednesday, the next extension — or the picket lines — will set the schedule.