Partial Deal in Port Labor Talks

SAN FRANCISCO November 2, 2002; Justin Pritchard writing for the AP reports thst both sides in the West Coast port labor dispute hailed a tentative agreement on computer technology use on the docks, but unresolved issues — and bitterness — remained.

Longshoremen and shipping companies reached the agreement Friday to track waterfront cargo more efficiently using technology that would make hundreds of union jobs obsolete. The two sides called it the first progress since a 10-day lockout of dockworkers last month shut down 29 major Pacific ports.

``The parties have worked long and hard,'' said federal mediator Peter Hurtgen. His statement said only that the deal concerned ``the key issues of new technology and retention of union's jurisdiction for marine clerk work.''

While the issue of technology was the major sticking point in the negotiations, pensions and arbitration still separate the two sides. But both sides have said once technology is resolved, the other issues should fall into place.

Shipping companies are seeking to modernize ports to use computerized records of what cargo is stacked where on each vessel and in each yard. Often that information is already in electronic form when the cargo is loaded at another Pacific Rim port, but clerks now retype the data — slowing the movement of cargo but preserving union positions.

With Hurtgen's prodding, both sides agreed union clerks wouldn't have jurisdiction over cargo planning on vessels, though they would be involved in planning on the docks and in rail yards. Also, the union dropped its demand for minimum manning levels at some waterfront positions. Other details were still sketchy.

``Obviously that is a positive development, and we continue to urge the parties to work together in good faith to resolve their remaining differences for the sake of the economy and jobs,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The dockworker's union and the association representing shipping lines were compelled to restart talks after a federal judge granted President Bush's request for an 80-day ``cooling-off'' period.

The technology agreement, reached early Friday after all-night talks, clearly entailed compromise on both sides.

The 10,500-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union had insisted it would only agree to cuts in the number of marine clerks, whose jobs will be obsolete with a freer flow of electronic information, if the Pacific Maritime Association agreed that new jobs created by the technology be under the union's jurisdiction.

Though the short-term job loss numbers weren't clear Friday, both sides have said around 400 clerk positions would be eliminated under various technology proposals that have been floated since talks began in the spring.

``We had our bottom line on jurisdiction on what we could do, what we could accept, and they met our bottom line,'' union spokesman Steve Stallone said. ``So we consider this a real victory and the first real progress we've had in these negotiations.''

Sparring continues over who's to blame for slow progress in clearing the massive backlog of cargo since the lockout ended Oct. 9.

The association complained to the Justice Department that dockworkers have intentionally slowed work, cutting productivity by 30 percent in some cases. The union countered that mismanagement by shipping lines and terminal operators has led to dangerous congestion and disarray.

Even as Hurtgen was preparing to issue his statement Friday, the union publicly released a letter asking the Justice Department to investigate whether the Bush administration inappropriately collaborated with business groups to undermine union bargaining power during the lockout.

The Justice Department didn't have immediate comment.

McClellan said the White House did nothing wrong.

``We have a commitment, an obligation to listen to all people on all sides of the issues, and we have,'' he said. ``Throughout the dispute, the administration has remained neutral and urged the parties to work together to resolve their differences.''

A Pacific Maritime Association spokesman acknowledged that the deal could prove to be an important breakthrough, but had no further comment, citing Hurtgen's request for a media blackout on the negotiations.

The ports handle more than $300 billion in trade each year. Some economists estimated that the U.S. economy lost $1 billion each day as cargo piled up at the docks and ships waited at anchor offshore. Some factories had to shut down for lack of supplies.