Last updated July 1, 2008 12:11 p.m. PT

West Coast dockworkers contract set to expire

By ALEX VEIGA
AP BUSINESS WRITER

LOS ANGELES -- Negotiators for shipping companies and West Coast dockworkers were back at the bargaining table Tuesday, just hours before their labor contract was set to expire.

Workers were expected to stay on the job if the six-year pact expired at 5 p.m. PDT with no new deal in place covering the nation's key gateways for cargo from the Far East.

"We're committed to resolving outstanding issues at the table and to keeping West Coast ports running smoothly, and we are prepared, if necessary, to continue talking after the current six-year labor contract expires today," said Steve Getzug, spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents 71 shipping companies and marine terminal operators.

A call to a spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union was not immediately returned Tuesday. The union said last week it wanted to keep the ports operating.

Contract talks began in March between the shipping companies and union. About 26,000 workers would be affected at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington.

The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle about 40 percent of the nation's cargo.

Combined, the ports moved 12.2 million cargo containers last year and accounted for an annual domestic impact of $1.2 trillion, or about 11 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, according to the association.

Both sides are hoping to avoid a repeat of a bitter labor dispute that led to a 10-day lockout in 2002 and caused an estimated $15 billion in economic losses.

Last month, the union and the shippers disclosed they had reached a tentative agreement on health care benefits.

Wage, pension, safety and productivity issues remained under discussion.

Shippers have said the average full-time dockworker made $136,000 in 2007, placing them among the best paid blue-collar workers in the nation.

The union disputes that figure, stressing that only about 10,000 of the 25,000 workers covered by the current contract work full-time or more hours.

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On the Net:

Pacific Maritime Association, http://www.pmanet.org/

International Longshore and Warehouse Union: http://www.ilwu.org/

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