Associated Press
A dockworker walks past a ship waiting to be unloaded
at the Port of Oakland yesterday. Although the port
reopened, slowdowns were reported in other West Coast ports.

---

More slowdowns
hit ports

ILWU and shipping company
officials return to the table

From staff and wire reports

Some cargo ships from the West Coast will arrive late in Hawaii as Matson Navigation Co. adjusts its schedule to make up for a two-day work stoppage by dock workers in Oakland.

However, union and management representatives were back at the bargaining table in San Francisco today to negotiate a new contract between more than 14,000 International Longshore and Warehouse Union members on the West Coast and the Pacific Maritime Association, representing management of about 90 shipping and stevedoring companies.

Meanwhile, slowdowns hit California, Washington and Oregon ports as union members, working without a contract since July 1, dropped their usual practice of working overtime through lunch breaks and before and after their regular shifts.

Matson and Sea-Land Service Inc., the two major container line serving Hawaii from the West Coast, said they had ships delayed in Oakland but are now working to catch up.

Sea-Land said it had no problems today and Matson said it has taken care of its problems by moving ships around.

Its S.S. Kauai, which had been scheduled to leave Oakland on Wednesday, left yesterday instead and is scheduled to arrive in Honolulu at 10 a.m. Monday. The S.S. Matsonia is in port in Oakland and will leave for Honolulu Monday, the company said.

The S.S. Chief Gadao, which had been scheduled to go from Los Angeles to Oakland and Honolulu, sailed direct to Honolulu from Los Angeles this morning.

Matson said neighbor island delivery schedu es are being altered because of the West Coast delays.

"We now have slowdowns at all major ports up and down the coast -- Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach," said Phil Resch, vice president of operations and a spokesman for the PMA.

Resch said the talks toward a new contract had been going well before they recessed for the Independence Day weekend, with the ILWU taking away management proposals to study.

There was some hard bargaining, Resch said, "but we were making really significant progress" before the Oakland workers' walkout.

The union, which began refusing the overtime in Los Angeles and Long Beach Tuesday morning, expanded the action to all ports yesterday, the PMA's Resch said.

"What they're not doing is work ing extra," said the ILWU's Steve Stallone. "They feel they're not getting good faith from the PMA right now in negotiations, so why should they be busting their butts?"

In Hawaii, a statewide waterfront labor contract is being negotiated separately by the ILWU and the Hawaii Employers Council, which represents shipping management.

There have been no reports of slowdowns on the Hawaii docks.

The Hawaii contract expired at the same time as the West Coast one, on July 1.

Traditionally, the ILWU in Hawaii waits to see the outcome of West Coast negotiations before wrapping up a Hawaii contract.