Dockers strike gives us the 1930's ambiance
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Hundreds of millions of dollars of goods back up at US ports
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods were piling up Monday at ports on the US west coast after a labor dispute paralyzed operations in a move that is costing a billion dollars a day.
Hundreds of cargo-laden ships from San Diego, California, to Seattle, Washington, were stranded Sunday when the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines, locked out workers indefinitely.
"Our workers are locked out, ships and trucks are lining up outside ports up and down the coast with huge amounts of cargo accumulating," said Steve Stallone of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
"We are ready to go back to work as son as the shippers allow us to. This is doing significant damage to the economy is the employers' full and sole responsibility," he added.
The economic impact of the dispute is huge as the 29 west coast ports are the main points of entry to the country for trade from Asian countries, with about seven percent of the US gross domestic product passing through them.
The autumn months typically are the busiest at US docks, as retailers stock up on imported goods for the crucial Christmas shopping season which is crucial to US consumption figures.
Trucks with goods such as toys and meat were lining up at ports as longshoremen, who have been working without a contract since July 1, picket docks to protest the shutout imposed by the shipping lines.
"I've got a load of meat here and have no idea whether the ports will open in time for it to be delivered before it goes bad," a truck driver told KFWB radio news here.
The shutout was ordered by the PMA Sunday just hours after dock workers returned to work after a 36-hour shutout that began Friday after employers accused the union of staging a go-slow strike.
The union strongly denies the charge and says the PMA is holding the struggling US economy hostage out of frustration over the contract negotiations which have become deadlocked over the automation of some port facilities.
"This is not considered a lockout its a defensive shutdown against the slowdown strike actions by the union," said the PMA's Joe Miniaci.
"We are simply today saying we are not going to (pay) labor that is going to come in and strike (against) us."
The employers' organization says ports are not competitive with world ports because unions will not accept basic technology that boosts efficiency.
The two sides were due to meet for talks in San Francisco later Monday in a bid to break the crippling deadlock, while the US government has asked employers and the union to meet for emergency talks in Washington on Thursday.
© AFX News |
