Labor standoff on West docks remains tense

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Talks aimed at ending the West Coast dock lockout were called off Tuesday after negotiators for the shipping companies showed up accompanied by armed security guards. The longshoremen's union called the guards "armed thugs," but the Pacific Maritime Association said the guards were escorts and weren't in the meeting room.

Representatives from both sides had planned to meet with a federal mediator to see if a third party could help break the standoff that has kept more than 10,000 dockworkers off the job at harbors that handle $300 billion worth of freight annually.

The talks in Oakland were aborted, however, when representatives of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union objected to the armed security guards who escorted the chief management negotiator, Joe Miniace, to the session.

"This shows how they approach negotiations, hiding behind the government and armed thugs," accused an indignant Joe Spinosa, president of the ILWU. "The PMA's lockout is holding a gun to the head of the American economy and now they move to aim real guns at us."

The PMA, which represents 87 shipping companies, responded that the security detail had merely escorted Miniace to the meeting and was not present in the conference room.

"We would hope the union would understand these circumstances, rather than trying to create an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with bargaining," the organization said in a statement. "We encourage the union to return to the bargaining table, to sign a contract extension that will enable the ports to re-open, and to re-engage in meaningful dialogue with the federal mediator."

The PMA did not specifically say why Miniace needed bodyguards, but stated that they had been retained several days ago. "At that time, there was good reason to believe that security was necessary; that position has not changed," a release put out by the PMA said.

While Spinosa vowed that the ILWU would not be intimidated and would not agree to a new contract "as long as the PMA acts as if it can force a settlement at gunpoint rather than negotiate."

Meanwhile, the situation was being closely monitored in Washington where President Bush has the option of invoking the Taft-Hartley Act and ordering the docks to re-open during an 80-day cooling off period.

"I urge both parties to utilize the mediator, but we'll continue to pay attention to it," Bush told reporters at the White House Tuesday. "It's a problem and it's something that we're just going to have to get these parties to work through and get back to work. It's important for our economy that we do so."

The West Coast handles nearly half of the goods imported to and exported from the United States. Much of the trade is between the United States and Asia, and analysts have projected the cost of a lockout or strike to the U.S. economy at around $1 billion a day.

Halting the flow of cargo through major ports -- such as Los Angeles-Long Beach, Seattle-Tacoma and Oakland-San Francisco -- is expected to have an immediate ripple effect on companies awaiting shipments of consumer goods for the Christmas season, or those using "just-in-time" inventory control practices. One container ship docked off Long Beach contained bananas from South America that are refrigerated but will only last a few more days. Another ship that was from Europe waiting to be unloaded contained fancy BMW vehicles.

"The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach moved $175 billion worth of cargo last year and accounted for 500,000 trade-related jobs in the region," said Rusty Hammer, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. "Many of those jobs are threatened if the ports remain closed for even a few more days."

The steadily increasing volume of cargo containers, agricultural products and other freight that passes through West Coast ports has the PMA insisting that the level of cargo-tracking technology on the docks be increased. The two sides have been at odds over the increasing use of technology for clerical tasks currently performed by well-paid ILWU members. The PMA insists that cargo-tracking equipment such as bar-code scanners are necessary for West Coast ports to remain competitive in the global shipping sector. The union demands that jobs created by technology upgrades be under ILWU jurisdiction.

While ships rest at anchor waiting for the lockout to end, a number of businesses are making plans to ship urgent cargoes by air if necessary. A prolonged disruption could send some ships to Atlantic and Gulf Coasts ports to unload their cargoes.

The ILWU has stated that it was willing to load ships with military cargoes or supplies for Alaska, while Hawaii residents and businesses braced for a halt in the flow of freight from the U.S. mainland.

"We took some pro-active steps early on and have maintained a higher inventory than normal," Barry O'Connell, president of HFM Food Service, a Hawaii hotel and restaurant supplier, told the Honolulu Advertiser.

Meanwhile, there were some signs of life on the docks in Los Angeles aside from security guards and ILWU pickets -- the annual Lobster Fest was declared ready to open this weekend.

"The Lobster Festival is not affected by the ILWU dispute," said cheerful producer Jim Hall. "Our festival takes place...where no freight is handled. We invite both sides to sit down at the table with us this weekend and enjoy a fine lobster meal. There is no disputing that we are going to be serving up a lot of fun and fine food."

"Last year we went through Sept. 11, and the start of the war in Afghanistan, and went on to break all attendance records," he added with some enthusiasm. "This year, the weather is going to be wonderful and we'll get through this just fine."

(Reported by Hil Anderson in Los Angeles)