LA-Long Beach port strike threat: 250 watchmen, Nov 1

The News

A strike by about 250 port security guards could shut terminals handling most of Long Beach’s cargo from Nov 1, 2026, their employers warned. It would hit while 35,688 import containers already waiting at Los Angeles and Long Beach for a train.

The guards are ILWU Local 26 watchmen at eight locations. Their terminals handle about 85% of Long Beach’s cargo and 33% of Los Angeles’. Of the boxes waiting for rail, 10,562 have sat nine days or more.
“Nothing of value has resulted from the Union’s commitment to bargaining in good faith,” Local 26 President Luisa Gratz wrote to other maritime unions.

The details

The watchmen’s contract expired in July 2025. The two sides have met for more than a year without a deal. The latest extension runs out Nov 1, the earliest date Local 26 can strike.

Local 26 members voted to approve a walkout. Federal mediators have joined the talks.
The watchmen guard the terminal gates and watch cargo. Their contract is separate from the coastwide ILWU longshore contract, which runs through 2028.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the employers, says its offer includes wage increases and pension improvements. Full-time watchmen average more than $170,000 a year.

Other ILWU members are not expected to cross Local 26 picket lines. That could halt vessel, yard and gate work at the affected terminals, which handle more than half the complex’s cargo.

The union’s strike notice lists APM Terminals, Long Beach Container Terminal, Total Terminals International, SSA at C-60, A-90, LB 206, Pacific Container Terminal and OH 55.
The watchmen are about 2% of the ILWU workforce at the two ports. “We are asking for your support and labor solidarity,” Gratz wrote.
The PMA said it will “continue to negotiate in good faith through the Nov 1 deadline and beyond if necessary.”

Rail-bound boxes were already piling up before the strike notice. Los Angeles holds most of the backlog and most of the boxes that have waited longest.

At Los Angeles, 8,133 of 19,626 containers waiting for rail had sat nine days or more, or 41%. At Long Beach, 2,429 of 16,062 had, or 15%. Both counts are as of Oct 26.
Rail-bound imports sat an average 7.19 days at the two ports in September, up from 6.75 in August. Boxes picked up by truck sat 3.18 days, up from 2.95.

Union Pacific ties the delay to railcar supply. “Strong international volumes have tightened rail car supply, but Union Pacific’s buffer resources have positioned us well,” a UP spokesperson said.

UP said it continues “to pull consistently from the docks” and is using its ICTF rail yard near the ports. BNSF did not comment.
CH Robinson’s October market update also pointed to short railcar supply in Southern California.
The two ports each set monthly records in September, handling a combined 2.04 million TEUs.

My notes

Only 250 people, but the dockworkers would stop with them. Local 26 is about 2% of the ILWU workforce at the two ports. Because the rest of the ILWU is expected to honor its picket lines, a small security unit could stop terminals that handle more than half the complex’s cargo.
Midwest importers who rail boxes out of Long Beach have the most at stake. The listed terminals handle 85% of Long Beach cargo. Long Beach also has 16,062 boxes waiting for a train. While vessel, yard and gate work stops at a terminal, a box on it cannot leave by rail or by truck. Los Angeles has more old boxes, but a strike would reach about a third of its cargo.
The rail delay came before any strike. Rail-bound imports sat more than twice as long as trucked ones in September. A month later, 10,562 boxes have waited nine days or more. A walkout would add days to freight that is already late.