ASSOCIATED PRESS
Longshoreman Sheldon Dulbert relaxed yesterday outside of the shipping docks in Oakland, Calif.
Concern mounts SAN FRANCISCO >> Normally bustling West Coast ports were silent yesterday as a lockout of about 10,500 dockworkers by shipping lines took hold.
over dock lockout
Shippers worry that billions of
dollars in goods will go to wasteBy Justin Pritchard
Associated PressAs the labor dispute between shipping lines and the dockworkers' union continued, farm exporters worried produce would rot on the docks and importers fretted billions of dollars worth of goods from Asia wouldn't reach factories and store shelves nationwide.
The lockout began Friday, when the association representing shipping lines and terminal operators charged longshoremen with staging coordinated slowdowns to gain leverage in contract talks.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said it simply had told its members at 29 major Pacific ports to work in strict accordance with all safety and health rules because the employers were bargaining in bad faith.
By yesterday, signs of any progress in contract talks were scant, and it was clear tensions hadn't eased. Though the two sides agreed to meet tomorrow, spokesmen for the union and employers said it wasn't likely work would return to normal today, when the lockout was scheduled to end.
The lockout couldn't have been more ill timed -- the import season for holiday goods is in full swing.
The Pacific Maritime Association said a coastwide labor disruption could ripple through the U.S. economy at around $1 billion a day. West Coast ports handled more than $300 billion in cargo over the past year.
In the 36 hours the docks are closed this weekend, about 30 ships will have to wait outside the berths of major Pacific ports, according to the association. Another 70 won't be able to leave. All told, hundreds of millions worth of goods will sit idle, the association said.
Contract talks crumbled last week over how to implement new technology on the waterfront. The union wants guarantees that positions created by the introduction of more efficient computer information systems are union-covered, while the association says the union shouldn't dictate that it gets every new job.
While longshoremen will be at their dispatch halls this morning to accept work orders, they will continue to follow the same policy shipping lines blame for its decision to shutter ports.
"The same policy is in effect, where basically it's work to rule, work safe, be careful out there," union spokesman Steve Stallone said yesterday. "The question becomes, 'What was accomplished here by the employer?"'
Association President Joseph Miniace said the union has told workers who normally report to the same shipping terminal each day to start the day at the dispatch hall for random assignment. Because each terminal has different technology and practices, that would hamstring operations, Miniace said.
"That being the case, they will shut down the terminals tomorrow," Miniace said. "It's in their hands at this point in time. We should be at the negotiating table and not playing childish games."
Meanwhile, exporters worried their time-sensitive goods would start to spoil before they leave shore.
Trucking company owner Jose Beltran said he had two containers of vegetables that wouldn't be leaving for Hawaii.
Vision Logistics Group feared its 49,000 apples destined for Colombia and Costa Rica would go bad, since no one was around to check whether their refrigerated containers were working.
An association representing importers and exporters said it would press for federal intervention if the situation deteriorated.
"It's one thing if those two sides want to play brinksmanship," said Robin Lanier of the West Coast Waterfront Coalition. "But it's another thing if they jump off the cliff, because they take us with them."
Pacific Maritime Association
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
