250 Port Watchmen Could Shut Down 85% of Long Beach Cargo Sunday

Some 250 union watchmen at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could walk off the job as early as 5 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, Nov. 1, putting cargo operations at the nation's busiest container port complex at risk.

The workers belong to International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26, and they have already authorized a strike, according to the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers. Negotiations are continuing with the help of federal mediators.

The number is small. The leverage is not.

How 250 Workers Could Halt a Port Complex

PMA said the watchmen represent about 2% of ILWU workers at the two ports. But they work at terminals handling roughly 85% of Long Beach's cargo and 33% of Los Angeles' cargo.

The bigger risk is solidarity. The employer group expects other ILWU members would honor picket lines, potentially halting vessel, yard and gate operations at affected facilities. That math turns a narrow security dispute into a broad cargo shutdown.

What Broke Down in the Talks

The watchmen's previous agreement expired in July 2025. Employees have kept working under extensions since then, after more than a year of negotiations that left the union and employers divided. The latest extension runs out Sunday.

PMA said significant differences remain but pledged to keep talking.

"The Pacific Maritime Association remains committed to reaching a fair agreement with ILWU Local 26 at the bargaining table, and we will continue to negotiate in good faith through the November 1 deadline and beyond if necessary," the association said in an email to FreightWaves.

Employers said their offer includes wage increases and pension improvements. The local has not detailed its demands.

On pay, PMA said full-time watchmen currently earn an average of more than $170,000 annually, plus fully employer-paid health care and pension benefits.

Why This Contract Is Separate From the Coastwide Deal

Local 26's contract stands apart from the coastwide agreement covering ILWU longshore workers and marine clerks, which runs through 2028. That means a Local 26 strike would not automatically trigger a wider West Coast labor action — but honored picket lines could achieve the same effect at the terminal level.

The Timing Could Hardly Be Worse

The strike threat lands while the LA–Long Beach complex is already fighting a backlog of containers waiting for inland rail transportation. Terminal congestion and shortages of rail equipment in Southern California have contributed to delays.

That has shippers worried about the movement of holiday merchandise toward the eastern United States. A work stoppage layered on top of the rail backlog would hit exactly the cargo that cannot afford more delay — peak-season imports bound for inland distribution.

What Shippers Should Watch

• The Sunday 5 p.m. deadline. The extension expires then; a deal or another extension before that time defuses the immediate threat.
• Picket-line discipline. If other ILWU members honor Local 26's lines, vessel, yard and gate operations at affected terminals stop.
• Terminal exposure. Facilities handling roughly 85% of Long Beach cargo and 33% of Los Angeles cargo sit in the blast radius.
• Federal mediation. Talks continue with mediators at the table, the one signal both sides are still bargaining rather than bracing for a walkout.

For carriers and forwarders, the exposure is asymmetric. Long Beach terminals carry the heavier share of the risk, which means diversion planning — where capacity allows — would skew toward LA facilities and other West Coast gates if the deadline passes without a deal.

The Bottom Line

A strike by just 250 watchmen could become a much larger cargo shutdown if other dockworkers honor the local's picket lines. With PMA pledging to negotiate past Nov. 1 if necessary, the immediate question is whether mediators can close the gap before the extension lapses — and before holiday freight already stuck behind the rail backlog takes another hit.