NO QUICK DOCK FIX BREAKING CARGO JAM MAY TAKE AS LONG AS 1 1/2 MONTHS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox and Brent Hopkins Staff Writers It could take up to six weeks to clear the cargo backlog from the dozens of ships docked or anchored off Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, once dockworkers return to their jobs, industry and government officials said Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, 122 cargo ships were in or near ports in Long Beach, 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. and Port Hueneme, with 39 more vessels scheduled to arrive in the next two days, said a spokesman for the Marine Exchange of Los Angeles/Long Beach, which tracks shipping traffic. Still to be resolved is exactly when longshoremen will return to work. Will Berg, the Port of Hueneme's director of marketing and trade zone services, doubts there will be an immediate return even if a federal judge orders the ports reopened. ``It's going to be a week or better,'' he said. ``It takes time to enact it all. We've got guys picketing our gate right now. 'Immediately' means come right in and work, and that ain't going to happen.'' However, some workers in Los Angeles and Long Beach could return as early as today. Shippers, claiming the International Longshoremen's Union had ordered a slowdown, locked out dockworkers 10 days ago. The dispute centers on a contract to replace one that expired July 1. Dockworkers had been on the job under a day-to-day contract extension. The two sides are at odds over benefits, pensions and new technology that the union fears could eliminate jobs. When the lockout lockout, intentional closing up of a company, factory, or shop by an employer to prevent employees from working during a strike or labor dispute. The term lockout hit, there were 27 ships tied up to docks in Long Beach and 19 berthed in Los Angeles. ``In many instances, they occupy berths that other ships are waiting to get into,'' said Dick McKenna, the exchange's executive director. Additionally, 11 vessels are anchored inside the ports' breakwater breakwater, offshore structure to protect a harbor from wave energy or deflect currents. When it also serves as a pier, it is called a quay; when covered by a roadway it is called a mole. , which extends about a mile from shore, while 65 others are waiting outside the barrier. Meanwhile, five ships are waiting to leave the docks. There are about 200 berths in the two ports, but they are very cargo-specific, so it will take time to sort the situation out. Port of Long Beach spokesman Art Wong said that it can take up to three days to unload one ship and that both ports together could process as many as 25 ships at a time. The ships will be off-loaded in their arrival order, but with some consideration given to vessels carrying perishable goods PERISHABLE GOODS, Goods which are lessened in value and become worse by being kept. Vide Bona Peritura. , said Theresa Adams Lopez, spokeswoman for the 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 . ``It will take a while to unravel things,'' she said. Even though there appeared to be progress in ending the lockout, some dockworkers remained uneasy on Tuesday. More than two dozen members of ILWU ILWU n abbr (US) (= International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union) → sindicato internacional de trabajadores portuarios y almacenistas ILWU n abbr (US) (= Local 46 protested the lockout at Port Hueneme, where two ships were berthed and one was at anchor. That facility has 90 union jobs, with an additional 350 positions under the ILWU's jurisdiction. Henry Ruelas Jr., the local's vice president and a dock supervisor, looks forward to working again as soon as possible. ``I'm hopeful we can get a new contract without having to lose any jobs,'' the 38-year-old Oxnard resident said. And though past contracts have guaranteed that longshore long·shore adj. Occurring, living, or working along a seacoast. [Short for alongshore.] workers' salaries outpace many white-collar jobs, Mark Pro, who works in ships' holds, said the money is hard-earned. After 20 years on the docks, he feels he deserves his $70,000 annual salary, augmented by overtime. ``We're specialists,'' he said. ``You wouldn't just want to take someone off the street and give them this job. We earn this money.'' Even if President George W. Bush gets the entire 80-day cooling-off process he seeks, Berg said there's no guarantee the basic issues will be resolved. Jay Lopez, a third-generation longshoreman who's spent 24 years on the docks, echoed that caution. ``If the PMA PMA (papillary-marginal-attached), n a system of epidemiologic scoring of periodontal disease devised by Schour and Massler in which the symbols denote the areas involved in gingival inflammation. PMA Progressive muscular atrophy (Pacific Maritime Association The Pacific Maritime Association represents shipping companies and terminal operators. In a 2002 dispute with a longshoremen's union, 10,500 dockworkers were locked out because of an alleged slowdown. President George W. Bush is expected to invoke a cooling off period. ) doesn't want to work with us, we'll be out here again when it's done (jargon) When It's Done - A manufacturer's non-answer to questions about product availability. This answer allows the manufacturer to pretend to communicate with their customers without setting themselves any deadlines or revealing how behind schedule the product really is. ,'' the 42 year-old dock worker said, watching the picket line. ``Only we'll be on strike.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Mark Pro, a longshoreman for 20 years, protests the continuing maritime lockout Tuesday at the Port of Hueneme. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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