Groups Set to Continue Negotiations

Associated Press ^ | July 1, 2002 | By JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press Writer

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Groups Set to Continue Negotiations By JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Their contract expires Monday afternoon, but the 10,500 longshoremen who handle cargo at all West Coast ports will not strike - and the shippers who employ them say they won't lock out the dock workers. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union met with the Pacific Maritime Association on Saturday, but the union rejected the association's proposal. The union plans to present its own offer when talks resume Monday, just two hours before the current contract expires at 2 p.m. EDT. Negotiations have stalled over benefits and how to bring new cargo-handling technology to the ports, according to both sides. Still, with pressure coming from as high as the White House, longshoremen and shippers promise to keep talking. The contract between the union and the association controls the flow of goods through America's 29 major Pacific ports. Last year, longshoremen loaded or unloaded $260 billion in cargo, and association officials predict that total will double in the next decade. Major labor unrest would effectively cut off goods from Asia and send a shiver through the nation's economy. A recent study by University of California-Berkeley professor Stephen Cohen suggested even a 10-day disruption would cost more than $19 billion. But even with the deadline looming, neither side sounds frantic. In 1999, longshoremen worked two weeks after the deadline passed before settling on a contract. West Coast docks had strikes in 1934, 1936-1937, 1948 and 1971. But this time around, longshoremen have not voted to authorize a strike - and such a vote would take weeks to stage, union spokesman Steve Stallone said. Shippers' association spokesman Jack Suite said there will be no lockout - unless there's a work slowdown. "I expect we'll continue negotiations," he said. Under federal law, President Bush can block a strike and impose an 80-day cooling-off period. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday that administration officials are monitoring the contract talks in San Francisco and are "encouraging the parties to reach an agreement and keep in mind the impact that it could have on the economy." Union officials say shippers are trying to cut their health benefits, gut the grievance process and outsource some union jobs under the guise of making ports more efficient. Shippers say they need to automate the ports to compete in the global economy and that their offer keeps the union's health package the envy of the working class. Wages are also at issue. A longshoreman's $80,000 average annual salary for full-time dock work rises to a $167,000 average for the most experienced foremen. ---