LABOR

New Vote Scheduled for Longshore Contract: The longshore division of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union said it will vote again the week beginning Sept. 16 on a proposed three-year labor contract. As previously reported, the union voted down the contract in an initial ballot last month. Although the proposal calls for a 13% increase in base hourly wages over three years, a host of other economic issues and concerns about future automation have raised concerns. Union officials played down the possibility of a strike, however, even if the pact is rejected a second time. The pact covers about 8,000 longshore workers at ports along the entire West Coast, but the largest contingent is at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, where opposition to the proposal has been strong.