PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA 
Item No. 7a 
Date of Meeting  September 1, 2009 
DATE:    August 18, 2009 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Gary Schmitt, Labor Relations Director 
SUBJECT:  Port of Seattle Union Representation 

PORT OF SEATTLE UNIONS 
The Port of Seattle has a long and productive history with organized labor. Roughly 50% of
employees at the Port are unionized, represented by sixteen different labor unions. Some of the
job classifications with the highest union representation include maintenance, (airport
maintenance is 85% union, seaport maintenance is between 70% and 80% union), and police
personnel approximately 95% union. Among the largest unions in the Port's workforce are: 
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), with 180 members representing
police services, parking revenue collectors and drivers. 
The International Longshoremen Workers Union (ILWU), with 137 members
representing airport operations and security staff. 
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), with 122 members
representing wiremen, utility workers, and electronic technicians. 
The table attached to this memo provides the current number and category of the unionized
workforce at the Port of Seattle. 
The construction trade unions are, with the exception of the carpenters, represented by the Seattle
King County Building Trades Council. The remaining groups are represented by a single union,
such as the ILWU or Teamsters. There are some 850 ILWU members working the seaport,
many of them employed by Port customers rather than by the Port of Seattle itself. 
A number of the Port's tenants and customers have unionized workforces, both at the Seaport
and the Airport. The Aviation Division indirectly supports approximately 7,500 union jobs, 
primarily airline, concession and construction employees, while the Seaport Division indirectly

COMMISSION MEMORANDUM 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
August 18, 2009 
Page 2 of 2 

supports approximately 3,600 union jobs primarily transportation jobs, such as dock workers, rail
workers and shipyards. 

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS 
The Port of Seattle is managing 10 projects directly employing 2,500 unionized construction
workers  under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA),  which includes the recently restarted
Consolidated Rental Car Facility, the Runway 16L Reconstruction, the Consolidated Warehouse
at the airport and Firehouse Renovation. The Third Runway and the recently completed T-91
Cruise Ship terminal were also constructed under the PLA. 
With a PLA, the owner of a project negotiates an umbrella agreement, which supersedes the
various individual union agreements. These agreements establish work rules, establish uniform
policies on such programs as safety and substance abuse, set up a uniform grievance and dispute
resolution system and prohibit work stoppages. The use and requirements of PLAs may expand,
if recent Executive Orders by the Obama administration are any indication.  For example
projects funded by federal dollars in excess of $25 million are now required to consider the use
of a PLA. 
RECENT LABOR NEGOTIATIONS 
Recently negotiated raises for unionized Port of Seattle employees in 2009 range between 2.0  
6.0%, with an overall average of just under 5.0%. 
The Commission has authorized the CEO to execute 9 labor agreements since January
2009 and three more agreements are pending.   All other collective bargaining
agreements are closed. 
When the CEO decided to reduce Port spending in early 2009 and institute furloughs for
salaried employees, the unions agreed to similar cutbacks including furloughs, wage
givebacks or layoffs to help the Port meet the 2009 the new budget goals.