Port Talks Pause Following Compromise
Negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) will break for a one-week recess, following an agreement on one of the stickiest issues—technology.
The ports reopened on Oct. 8 after a twoweek closure when negotiations broke down between the ILWU and the PMA. President Bush stepped in to reopen the 29 West Coast ports using the Taft-Hartley Act, which imposes a “cooling off” period on negotiators. Shipments are being received again, but there is a considerable backlog of goods and still more goods arriving daily.
The current recess is an effort to mitigate the intensity before negotiation continues on other key issues, according to Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Council (LAEDC).
“They have evidently reached an agreement on technology, but there are a lot of other issues including salary and pensions,” he said. “The mediating agency felt it was necessary to take a break since they have been negotiating in such an intense fashion.”
In the meantime, the ports are making progress on the backlog of shipments created during the work stoppage.
“There were more than 100 ships in Long Beach and Los Angeles, but now there are 70,” said Kyser. “They said it would take months to get things back to their normal routine, but we are at last seeing some progress.”
Kyser said that the mayors of both Los Angeles and Long Beach have instituted an oversight committee to assess the local impact of the port closures.
“The mayors will tour the ports on Thursday, meet on Friday and have a report on the local impact of what has happened and what might happen in the event of a renewed lockout,” said Kyser.
However, he pointed out that a definitive impact can only be determined once the goods arrive at local stores.
“You have to get the goods to the retailers to see if they accept them,” he said. “Then you’ll know the true impact. The good news for now is that there is some movement with the ships.”
Estimates of the losses due to the port closures are in the billions. —Darryl James
