DOCKSIDE WORK NORMAL AT PORT COMPLEX FOR NOW WALKOUT THREATENED AS NEGOTIATIONS STALL.Byline: KRISTOPHER HANSON Staff Writer LONG BEACH -- Dockside work in the nation's largest seaport was operating as normal late Wednesday despite reports that clerical workers were preparing to walk off the job in a labor dispute with shippers. Earlier in the day, negotiators for both workers and employers said labor talks had reached an impasse im·passe n. 1. A road or passage having no exit; a cul-de-sac. 2. A situation that is so difficult that no progress can be made; a deadlock or a stalemate: reached an impasse in the negotiations. , with union leaders hinting a strike was imminent. Despite the threat, no picket lines materialized. Spokesmen for the union and employers did not return phone calls. More than 900 front-office clerks represented by Local 63 Office Clerical Unit of the International Longshore long·shore adj. Occurring, living, or working along a seacoast. [Short for alongshore.] and Warehouse Union (ILWU-OCU) have been working without a contract since July 1. The groups began bargaining for a new contract in May, and workers authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: their leaders to call a strike on June 30, but have continued negotiations since that time. Early Wednesday, John Fageaux Jr., president of the Local 63 Office Clerical Unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said workers were ready to strike. "Talks are over ... we've gone as far as we could go and done everything we could do," Fageaux said in comments to KNX-AM (1070) radio. "The next step is we're going to get together with our group and determine when and where pickets signs are going to go up." Employers, represented at the bargaining table by attorney Steve Berry This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. , said they offered the union a fair wage and benefit package, but couldn't give any more. "We are at an impasse," Berry told KNX. More than 7,000 ILWU ILWU n abbr (US) (= International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union) → sindicato internacional de trabajadores portuarios y almacenistas ILWU n abbr (US) (= longshoremen who work in Long Beach and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. have agreed to honor picket lines put up by clerical workers -- a move that would shut down the port complex. Other workers, including more than 650 machinists who work on the docks, have also pledged to honor picket lines. The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex directly and indirectly supports more than 3 million jobs across the country and is one of Long Beach and San Pedro's largest employers, with more than 7,000 people employed in longshore work alone. Others that may be affected by a strike are port truckers, freight forwarders An individual who, as a regular business, assembles and combines small shipments into one lot and takes the responsibility for the transportation of such property from the place of receipt to the place of destination. , importers and exporters. kristopher.hanson(at)presstelegram.com CAPTION(S): Photo: The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex handles a significant portion of the nation's import and export business. Box: Port traffic SOURCE: 2005 data from Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown. Also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT LA , Port of Long Beach Gregg Miller/Staff Artist |
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