THE tentative west coast waterfront contract that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will vote on next month includes plenty of perks for the union and could revolutionise how day-to-day disputes on the waterfront are adjudicated.

The tentative agreement that was signed on February 20 by the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association includes wage increases that are more generous than in previous agreements, full docker maintenance of benefits to be paid for by the PMA and a new arbitration system that replaces individual arbitrators in the local ports with a three-member panel.

But more than nine months of negotiation and the resulting standoff that brought ports to the brink of gridlock all could be for naught if ILWU locals decide to reject the tentative agreement over manning issues, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce.

The ILWU will invite 90 delegates from all port regions to a caucus in San Francisco scheduled for the week of March 30 to accept or reject the deal. If delegates reject the ILWU and PMA will return to the bargaining table. If the caucus votes to recommend approval, the local leadership will hold meetings with the rank and file in their respective ports. Voting by the membership will be by secret ballot in April.

The proposed changes to the arbitration process would establish a three-member panel in each of the four port regions. One arbitrator would be nominated by the PMA and another by the ILWU.

The third would be a non-lawyer, and either a member of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association.

Today, there are four local arbitrators - one each in Seattle-Tacoma, Portland, Northern California and Southern California. The arbitrators in Los Angeles-Long Beach and Seattle-Tacoma are nominated by the ILWU and approved by the PMA.

The arbitrators in Oakland and Portland are nominated by the PMA and approved by the ILWU. Each local arbitrator handles the health and safety and work-rule disputes that occur.

If either party disagrees with the local arbitrator's decision, the question goes to the coast-wide arbitrator in San Francisco.

When a contract expires, the arbitration process is suspended, and the union is free to engage in work slowdowns as arbitrators can only work under a contract.