West Coast Ports Lock Out Workers

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(TT File Photo)
A lockout by the Pacific Maritime Association of its workers this weekend has stalled trade along the West Coast.The Pacific Maritime Association imposed its second lockout of the weekend late Sunday, saying that the 29 ports it represents on the West Coast would stay shut until its dockworkers' union agreed to extend its expired contract while a new one is talked out, the Associated Press reported.

Late Monday afternoon, cable financial news channel CNBC reported that a bargaining session scheduled for 2 p.m. PDT had been cancelled and no new sessions had been announced.

Ports on the West Coast handled about $300 billion in cargo over the past year, AP said. A protracted shutdown could cost the U.S. economy nearly $1 billion a day.

On Monday, White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that even if the lockout is short, it is a problem for the economy and the administration is "monitoring it very closely."

Trucks carry much of the goods that come into and head out of ports, so the shutdown will likely have a serious impact on trucking companies that operate in that area.

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union were told not to report to work Friday evening by the PMA, but some ports reopened Sunday morning after a one-day closure, Reuters said.

AP reported that the first lockout was imposed late Friday after labor talks that were at time contentious collapsed, but was lifted Sunday morning. The PMA reinstated the lockout just 12 hours later, accusing the union of understaffing its ports and dispatching unskilled workers to the job site.

The union’s chapter in San Francisco told workers to report to work Saturday for "random assignment," AP said. It was reported that some experienced crane operators took other jobs for the day. In Oakland, no crane operators took positions to load the last few containers on a ship that was otherwise ready to sail.

	West Coast Port Shutdown
	West Coast Ports Still Closed for Business (Oct. 1) MWest Coast Ports Lock Out Workers (Sept. 30) (Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.)

A spokesman for the ports told AP that production at the ports "fell off a cliff" on Saturday. In the 36 hours that the ports were shutdown on Friday night and Saturday, more than 30 ships had to moor outside the ports of Los Angeles, Oakland, Calif., Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., AP said.

Talks on a new contract crumbled last week over disputes on how to implement new technology at the ports. Sides appeared to be making strides toward a new deal after agreeing on benefits and pension packages, Reuters said. The previous labor deal expired on July 1.

PMA President Joseph Miniace said he had appealed for a federal mediator, AP reported.