Steve Quayle News Alerts

October 9, 2002
By Chris Isidore, CNN/Money Staff Writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - West Coast ports are set to reopen Wednesday evening for the first time in 10 days, but it will take much longer for cargo to start flowing normally over the docks.

Longshoremen stand outside a container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles Tuesday. Workers will return to work Wednesday under a federal judge's order.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup, responding to a request from President Bush, ordered the end of a management lockout at 29 ports from Seattle to San Diego Tuesday evening. He also warned the International Longshore and Warehouse Union not to engage in work slowdowns, as it has been accused of doing by management. The union has continually denied those charges.

But even if the union members work at peak productivity, management estimates it will be at least six weeks to work through nearly a two-week backlog of cargo that has built up during the ongoing labor dispute. And equipment imbalances among truckers and railroads and disruptions in shipping schedules will take some time to correct.

CNN Poll
Which side is at fault in the dispute that's closed down the West Coast ports?

Management 24%
Union longshoremen 75%
Other businesses 1%

The work stoppage has virtually choked off the flow of U.S-Asian trade for almost two weeks, costing the U.S. economy an estimated $2 billion a day. Retailers had shipments destined for the holiday shopping season disrupted, while manufacturers were unable to get parts needed to keep production lines operating normally. Perishable goods have rotted in containers and grain exports have been delayed.

"The crisis in our western ports is hurting the economy. It is hurting the security of our country, and the federal government must act," said Bush in comments announcing his intervention Tuesday. "Americans are working hard every day to bring our economy back from recession. This nation simply cannot afford to have hundreds of billions of dollars a year in potential manufacturing and agricultural trade sitting idle."

Bush requested an 80-day cooling off period under the seldom-used Taft-Hartley Act, during which time the two sides would work under terms of the previously expired contract while holding further negotiations supervised by a mediator. The judge granted a temporary restraining order that now runs through Oct. 17, but he has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 16 on the request for the 80-day injunction.

Under Tuesday's order, the ports are scheduled to reopen with the 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) shift Wednesday, according to the Pacific Maritime Association, the management group that represents major shipping lines and terminal operators in discussions with ILWU. It will place the order for the workers with the union by 2 p.m. PT.

The availability of workers and the productivity of the 10,500 union members once they report to work will be a key factor in determining how fast the backlog can be cleared. Starting Sept. 26, the PMA had accused the ILWU of not providing the necessary workers to some terminals, and of slowing down work by those members who reported.

In reaction PMA initially locked out the union for 38 hours starting Sept. 27. When it reopened the ports on Sunday, Sept. 29, it said that union members worked at only 60 percent of normal productivity levels. That prompted PMA to immediately reinstitute the lockout now set to end Wednesday.

The union has denied that it engaged in slowdowns, saying the delays were caused by high volumes of cargo moving through ports. Volumes have been unusually heavy during the peak pre-holiday shipping season because shippers rushed to move goods in anticipation of a work stoppage.

The rancor between the union and management Tuesday does not suggest that cooperation will be any better on docks Wednesday. Union officials say the backlog of cargo will pose safety problems and that they will insist workers follow safety procedures carefully, a step that management says is an illegal effort to slowdown work.

PMA CEO Joseph Miniace quoted a statement he said was made by ILWU International President James Spinosa in which the union chief allegedly said, "We're going to continue to work safe. Yeah, I guess it is a slow-up. That's the way we're going to work."

Union officials were not immediately able to confirm that comment, but have made similar comments of their own to CNN/Money.

"It was unsafe out there before. We've had five people die in the last six months from the speed up that has happened," said union spokesman Steve Stallone. "It's going to be hell out there now, and we don't want to bury any more people for PMA's productivity."

But even if there is labor-management cooperation on the docks, it will be difficult to find the necessary labor and equipment to handle all the ships waiting to load and unload cargo. Don Wylie, managing director of maritime services for the Port of Long Beach, said normal flows of cargo at ports is done by staggering of work as ships come and go to his port's 40 berths.

"They all won't be able to come in and start working right away. They'll be worked as labor is available," he said. "Even under normal circumstances this time of year it's not unusual to have some labor shortages because of peak season."

The trucks and railroads also will have equipment problems that will slow their ability to carry the freight to and from the ports, according to John Bromley, spokesman for Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad.

"The expectation is there will be a huge flood of trains, and that is not going to happen," said Bromley, whose railroad has estimated that it has lost between $4 million and $5 million a day during the dispute. "We have 55 trains and crews waiting to go in Southern California, but as we get this thing rolling out, we have to control it pretty carefully so we don't have all the crews and equipment on the wrong end of the railroad."

http://money.cnn.com/2002/10/09/news/ports/index.htm