Seen as a milestone in the effort to win back shippers’ trust Oakland - The Port of Oakland today congratulated both West Coast waterfront employers and dockworkers for ratifying a new five-year labor contract. The Pacific Maritime Association ratified the contract on Wednesday, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union followed suit today.  Approval of this labor contract formally ended a lengthy negotiating dispute that hampered containerized trade worldwide. The Port calls the contract approval a milestone in recapturing shippers’ trust lost during nine months of waterfront disruptions. “Thanks to both the PMA and ILWU, this agreement puts the contract discussions behind us,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle. “Now we can get down to the important work: improving service to shippers so that we remain their primary U.S. trade gateway.”          Labor disputes slowed trade and jammed container terminals from Seattle to San Diego for much of January and February. A tentative contract settlement Feb. 20 broke the impasse but ports spent two months or more recovering from cargo backlogs. Next up: the Port wants to improve cargo flow within its five marine terminals. That will be important in assuring customers of Oakland’s reputation for reliability, the Port said. Shippers and harbor truckers who pick up containers have reported periodic delays at several terminals. The Port is developing improvements that include a common chassis pool available to all drivers, Saturday gates for cargo delivery and pick-up, off-site pick-up locations for after hour loads, and technology to measure the wait times for harbor truckers at terminal gates.