West Coast Port Managers Say Lockout Is an Option

West Coast ports headed toward the brink of a major labor stoppage as negotiators for shippers and terminal operators accused dockworkers of staging a work slowdown and threatened to retaliate by locking out workers at all 29 ports.

Slowdowns hit at the Ports of Long Beach and Oakland, causing dozens of union and casual workers to be sent home Wednesday without pay, said Joseph Miniace, president and chief executive of the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents 87 shipping and stevedore companies.

The actions of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents about 10,500 port workers, raise the possibility of "economic disaster," the PMA said.

The West Coast ports handle more than $300 billion worth of goods a year, which comprise more than 7% of the gross national product.

Union spokesman Steve Stallone denied the union had initiated any slowdown. He said the situation in Long Beach was the result of excess cargo and too few trained crane operators. He said he was not immediately aware of any problems in Oakland.

The ILWU's port workers have been working without a contract since Sept. 1. Their labor agreement expired July 1, but both sides were agreeing to 24-hour extensions until talks temporarily derailed this month.

The first signs of slowdown began in Long Beach briefly Monday night and resumed Tuesday night and Wednesday, Miniace said.

"The union is playing with fire and appears to be willing to jeopardize America's economic interests by initiating hit and run tactics against members of the PMA," Miniace said.

The ILWU said problems were limited to one ship in one terminal at one port.

"The national economy is in no jeopardy," Stallone said. "If the PMA wants to put the national economy in jeopardy themselves by closing the West Coast ports, let them do it and take responsibility for it themselves," he said.

The U.S. Department of Labor said it was monitoring developments and didn't plan to take any action at this time.

The major sticking points remain how to introduce new technology on the docks and plans for a new arbitration process.