The labor union for West Coast dockworkers filed for bankruptcy to fend off a judgment holding it liable for what a federal jury found to be illegal slowdowns and work stoppages at the Port of Portland in Oregon, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union filed for chapter 11 protection in a San Francisco court to halt litigation brought by a former terminal operator of the Port of Portland that threatened to deplete the labor union’s cash reserves. The ILWU, which represents dockworkers at major U.S. ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, Calif., is fresh off ratifying a new, six-year contract for about 22,000 workers at 29 ports from California to Washington state to end a period of labor uncertainty for some of the nation’s busiest ports. The dockworkers union also has been facing a looming trial on claims that it illegally slowed down operations over several years at the Port of Portland, then operated by an affiliate of Philippines-based maritime company International Container Terminal Services Inc.
