Neither are prospects for a quick end to the labor fight. After President George W. Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act, shippers and the union agreed to the labor law’s 80-day cooling-off period. That pushed the danger of another port closure past Christmas. But it didn’t resolve key issues, and shippers are still worried about labor slowdowns.
The chief sticking point concerns technology–and only a few hundred of the 10,500 union jobs. West Coast ports are less automated than East Coast and Asian ports, and shippers say they want to install more high-tech tools like optical scanners, tracking computers and global-positioning devices. Modernization might eliminate up to 600 positions, and workers say they accept technology, and even job losses, to a point. But they insist that any new tech-related jobs go to union members. “We want the jobs to stay on the waterfront,’’ says Tom Harrison, a union exec in L.A. The shippers disagree, and the two sides appear far apart. Maybe Santa needs to pack a new contract in his sleigh.
