The International Longshore and Warehouse Union which represents about 20,000 dock workers at 29 West Coast ports is starting early on contract talks with the Pacific Maritime Association. That’s a very positive development according to Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.

The Union and Maritime Association is working on a contract extension from the deal they signed in 2015. Prior to that there was a nearly four month work slowdown that harmed U.S. exporters. Steenhoek says that slowdown was so costly that it caused business that may have been lost forever.

Steenhoek says most of the contract talks involve ports that deal with containerized shipments of pork and beef, important customers of soybean farmers.

The two sides are scheduled to meet in San Francisco next week.