Dock Strike Doesn't Appear imminent, Even if Talks Fail
Friday, June 28, 2002

By Paul Nyhan
Seattle Post Intelligencer

The longshoremen contract is poised to expire in four days and negotiators appear far from a settlement, leading dockworkers to press their demands in rallies throughout the West Coast yesterday. After weeks of negotiations, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union says employers proposed freezing wages for three years, slashing benefits and gutting the arbitration process. 

"They have attacked from all fronts." Del Bates, vice president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Workers Local 19, told hundreds of union members outside Terminal 25 yesterday. "We are ready if there is a fight,"

The Pacific Maritime Association, the negotiating arm for employers, maintains the two sides have yet to seriously discuss wages and that it is bargaining in good faith. In fact, an association spokesman said union negotiators initially wouldn't discuss anything but benefits.

A labor dispute, if it happens, could be weeks away. That's because contract talks likely will run past the July 1 deadline, says Jack Suite, director of contract administration for the Pacific Maritime Association, the negotiating arm for employers.

"We have never settled on time," Suite said.

Yesterday, negotiators made some progress, as they began discussing one of the thorniest issues, implementing technological upgrades at the port, the association said in a statement.

Employers are pressing for new technology to make West Coast ports more efficient, while pledging that no registered workers would lose their jobs as a result. Union officers say they're not afraid of technology.

Rather, they want to draw a distinction between changes that make ports more efficient and those that disguise the transfer of union jobs to outside contractors.

If the talks break down, a labor dispute could take many forms.

Longshoremen could slow the pace of their work, following current work rules to the letter. Employers, in turn, could lock out employees. Perhaps the least immediate threat is a traditional strike. It could take six weeks for the union to conduct a strike vote through the mail, said Steve Stallone. Whatever the form, a fight between longshoremen and employers threatens to disrupt tens of billions of dollars in trade that flow through West Coast ports every month.

That threat could lead President Bush to step in, calling for an 80-day cooling-off period. Any fight also would stretch far beyond longshoremen, their families and their bosses. The Seattle rally was packed with other unions yesterday, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which pledged massive support. As the hours slip by, one thing seems certain: The negotiations will come down to the final hours.

"I can tell you it will go eyeball to eyeball," said one dockworker, who requested anonymity, at yesterday's Seattle rally.