Port Workers Slow Productivity as Contract Talks Continue

Dockworkers at West Coast ports are staging slowdowns by coordinating their break times, as the union representing them continues to negotiate a contract after the previous one expired July 1, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Employers at the busiest U.S. port complex, the sister ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., said productivity at some port terminals there has dropped by as much as 15% since Friday, the Journal reported.

The Pacific Maritime Association represents terminal operators, unloading companies and cargo carriers, while the International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents about 26,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports.

An ILWU spokesman told the Journal that said any slowdowns at the ports would be minor.