BLOOMBERG NEWS The Hanjin Osaka took on cargo in the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., earlier this week. West Coast dockworkers are still negotiating with shippers to reach a contract.

Port talks yield
agreement
on benefits

However, much remains unresolved

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By Justin Pritchard
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO >> Shipping lines and West Coast dock workers tentatively have agreed to a new benefits package, a sign that even as contract negotiations drag on neither side is ready for crippling labor unrest.

Both sides signed the benefits agreement Wednesday evening, a day after rhetoric from shipping lines and the longshoremen's union made trouble on the waterfront sound imminent.

Spokesmen for both sides confirmed the agreement, but would not discuss its details yesterday.

"Nothing is finalized until the whole package is done, but the idea is that the issue is resolved," said Steve Stallone, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union spokesman.

"I'd like to look at it as the glass half full and think that this is a breakthrough," said Joseph Miniace, president of the Pacific Maritime Association.

The union and the association reached a similar benefits accord during the weekend before a dispute over arbitration led to a breakdown in talks and a lapse in the contract. Brinksmanship followed -- the union said it could stage a work slowdown, and the shipping lines promised a lockout in response.

Yesterday, Stallone reiterated that because the union was not renewing the contract on a short-term basis, it legally could take a job action such as a slowdown.

Miniace said he thought the benefits agreement diffused some pressure.

"Given that there's progress at the table, I would be surprised if there's a job action," he said.

The two sides were talking again yesterday, tackling perhaps the thorniest issue: how to modernize 29 major West Coast ports without gutting the ranks of the 10,500-member union.

Negotiations over a new three-year contract come as retailers scrambled to stock their shelves for the holiday shopping season.

By the association's estimates, even a short disruption in the flow of goods through Pacific ports would have a multibillion-dollar effect on the U.S. economy.

Beyond the immediate impact of labor unrest, both sides are jockeying for a share of the wealth expected to be created as the volume of Pacific Rim trade expands rapidly from its current annual value of more than $300 billion.

"We're pleased with the progress," said Kathleen Harrington, a spokeswoman with the Labor Department, which is monitoring the negotiations. "However, we continue to encourage both parties to resolve the issues."