Negotiators for West Coast dockworkers on Monday rejected a proposed contract from port employers that called for a 17 percent raise in wages and benefits in exchange for a longer contract and more flexibility to streamline terminal operations.

The ILWU, which began its week-long caucus Monday in San Francisco, is expected to vote down the proposed agreement.

"The (union) negotiating committee has unanimously recommended a 'no' vote. Most likely, negotiations will continue," the ILWU said in a statement.

The employers' proposal is significant because it extends to five-years the traditional three-year contract term. It also gives employers the ability to assign workers, especially marine clerks, on an "as needed" basis, rather than according to a set formula that assigns a certain number of clerks to each position on the docks.

According to the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, the proposal would increase the average longshore wage to $114,500 by the fifth year of the agreement. General longshoremen who work a full 40-hour week currently average $106,883 in wages. The straight-time wage, which is currently $27.68 per hour, would increase by 50 cents per hour each year from the second through the fifth year of the contract.

PMA President Joseph Miniace said the proposal not only satisfies the union's demand for full maintenance of benefits, but enhances the health, welfare and benefits package.

In a conference call with reporters, Miniace said the ILWU health and pension benefits would cost employers $57,000 per longshoreman per year midway through the contract, and $64,000 by the end of the contract. It currently costs employers $42,000 per longshoreman per year to fund the benefits program, he said.

A key provision in the proposal mandates a free flow of information to marine terminals and within the terminals, as employers seek an end to the costly practice of re-keying by ILWU marine clerks of data that is filed electronically to container terminals.

As a result, the number of marine clerk jobs would gradually decline by about 400 to 450 out of a current total of more than 1,400. However, the trend would reverse itself around 2007 and increased cargo volumes would create a need to hire more marine clerks, Miniace said.

Even for those positions that are eliminated, the PMA proposal would guarantee that all registered marine clerks would have a job, Miniace said. "We will guarantee them work in their classification," he said. Although there will be less need to go to the part-time or casual hall for clerks, there will still be plenty of work available, he added.

The contract also calls for changing the long-standing arbitration process. Technology issues would be decided by the coast arbitrator, who would be the final decision-maker on union challenges regarding technology.

The ILWU last week submitted to employers its technology proposal, which also calls for an end to re-keying of data, and said that its plan would save employers $100 million a year. However, the union also wants to bring back to the docks vessel planning positions that have been relocated to non-union workers at inland locations.

Miniace said the ILWU was informed 30 years ago that vessel planning was not under the union's jurisdiction. It is not within the authority of the PMA to give those positions to the union, he said.

The ILWU stated that the employer proposal only guarantees work for registered marine clerks "but provides no job protections for thousands of future registered clerks."

The union also charges that the PMA proposal will result in cutbacks to the health benefits program by establishing a two-tier system of medical benefits.

The previous ILWU contract was set to expire on July 1. The ILWU and PMA continued negotiations, agreeing each day to extend that contract for a 24-hour period. Employers report that there have been no work stoppages or slowdowns during the contract negotiations.

By Bill Mongelluzzo