BLOOMBERG NEWS Dock worker Frances Worsham-Lige, a union employee at Port of Oakland, Calif., watched yesterday as a cable crane loaded a cargo ship. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and shippers are back at the bargaining table after talks broke down over the weekend.

Dockworkers back at
bargaining table

ILWU and shippers
agree on health plan

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By Josh Fineman
Bloomberg News

San Francisco >> U.S. West Coast longshoremen's union leaders are set to meet today with representatives of cargo carriers after they yesterday renewed contract talks and reached agreement on a health-benefit plan.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the ocean carriers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association, met yesterday in the afternoon in San Francisco, said Jason Greenwald, a spokesman for the carriers. They reached an agreement on a health-benefit plan at 8 p.m., the ILWU said on its Web site. No further terms were released.

Talks between the ocean carriers and the union failed Sunday after union officials stopped accepting daily contract extensions, raising the possibility of a work slowdown. A closure of the ports would disrupt supplies of goods to U.S. retailers from Asia and may hurt the U.S. economy.

"It's a first step on a long road," union spokesman Steve Stallone said in an interview. "It's good to take that step but we still have a long way to go."

Talks will resume today and a decision on whether to continue negotiations will be made on a daily basis, Stallone said. He said that while the health plan was an important first step, many issues are far from being resolved.

He added that since the longshoreman are working without a contract, "nothing is off the table."

A 10-day shutdown of the ports of California, Oregon and Washington, which handle about 42 percent of U.S. waterborne trade, could cost the U.S. economy as much as $19.4 billion, according to a study by Martin Associates.

Retailers such as Walt-Malt Stores Inc., Gap Inc., Target Corp. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. have made plans for a possible port slowdown.

The New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. auto plant in Fremont, California, run by Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp., plans to halt production if the ports are closed, spokesman Michael Damer said.

The fact that talks have resumed "is an encouraging sign," carrier spokesman Jack Suite said. "We are optimistic that we will continue to meet."

Members of the ILWU, which represents about 10,500 dockworkers in Los Angeles, Long Beach, California, Seattle and other ports, had been working on a day-to-day basis since July 1 while negotiations continued.

Ocean carriers, including APL Ltd. and Maersk Pacific Ltd., have been in talks with the union since May. Among the sticking points are workers' benefits and how computers and automation equipment will affect jobs.