Ships stack up at ports thanks to early season and manpower woes.

With the peak shipping season arriving three months early, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are experiencing the worst backups since a 10-day lockout tied up vessel traffic in October 2002.

Last week, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. railroads reported outbound cargo delays of two and three days respectively, said Al Fierstine business development director for the Port of Los Angeles.

"It's going to be messy," said Fierstine, noting that those delays would likely get worse this week. "We'll probably see a delay for the next few weeks due to the ... shortage of manpower."

As many as 60 ships were docked of anchored offshore at a

Port: Increased Volume, Labor Shortage Cause Delays

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given time last week--at least one-third more than usual. While the situation had improved toward the end of the week, with 53 ships docked or anchored on June 30, another 63 vessels were scheduled to arrive through July 4.

"Once gridlock sets in, it's pretty tough to dig out," said Capt. Manny Aschemeyer, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, which runs vessel traffic control for the two ports.

Aggravating the situation is the re-igniting of a longstanding dispute between unionized longshoremen and steamship lines over the hiring of casual laborers. Longshoremen are pushing to get more casuals registered as union members. The steamship lines favor a less expensive plan of hiring more new casuals with no dock experience.

Last week, longshoremen were calling for a "stop-work meeting" on the evening of July 1 that would last from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m. on July 2. During that time, they planned to negotiate with the ship companies for more registered longshoremen.

The backlog could be further complicated by the paid July 4 holiday and July 5, an unpaid day that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union also takes in honor of "Bloody Thursday." (Bloody Thursday commemorates July 5, 1934, when police killed two striking longshoremen in San Francisco.)

Vessel backups

Pacific Maritime Association Chief Executive Jim McKenna said the backlog at the ports is not growing, although ships tended to stack up on Mondays.

"What happens (July 4) weekend, that's the big concern, McKenna said. "So we'll have the backlog that we will have to deal with" as the week progresses.

Last week, the steamship lines, which generally hire 80 to 90 "gangs" of eight to 15 longshoremen each for a day shift, were reporting shortages of as many as 37 gangs per shift.

"Cargo is increasing in double digits every year, but the registered workforce is not increasing at anywhere near that level," said Steve Stallone, an ILWU spokesman. "We push for more registration all the time. They say 'no' and then complain about the shortages. We say, 'duh.'"

Importers are already ordering or bringing in goods for the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Last month, the Long Beach port moved 468,029 TEUs (20-foot equivalent containers), or 20.5 percent more than the year-earlier period, while the L.A. port moved 660,839 TEUs, or a 1.4 percent increase.

Also, the contract for more than 700 steamship and terminal operators' clerical staff, who belong to ILWU's Local 63, expired last week. Although both sides continued to negotiate, union officials said the workers could go on strike if a settlement is not reached.

The walk-off would not significantly disrupt the flow of cargo, said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Long Beach port.

But if longshoremen honor the picket lines, the port could slow down or even close.

The July 4 logjam could have been worse had local independent truck drivers joined in the nationwide port strike on June 28 to protest high diesel fuel prices. Most of that hurt was felt at East Coast ports.

At the ports, staffing problems are exacerbated by vacations taken by senior longshoremen, who perform jobs such as operating cranes and large forklifts that casuals are not allowed to do.

Casuals are assigned to lower-skilled jobs, such as driving trucks that haul containers to and from terminal yards and lashing, of securing container stacks on ships.

"Yes, they need to hire more casuals, but they have to raise people up from casuals to registered longshoremen and members of the union," said Stallone.

McKenna said the number of casuals registered as longshoremen will depend on the number of longshoremen who are promoted to clerk and foreman positions.

"As the volume increases, we look at the registered workforce on a quarterly basis and decide if we have to add any specific (jobs)," he said.

An ILWU member makes $28.68 per hour plus full health benefits and a generous pension plan. Casuals make about $3 less to start and can work their way up to the same hourly pay within a year, but they get no benefits.

According to the 2003 annual report by the Pacific Maritime Association, the bargaining arm of the steamship lines, more than 800 casual workers became registered longshoremen last year.

Currently, there are 6,500 to 7,000 union members and 3,700 casuals serving the two ports. The PMA is seeking to add 1,000 new casual workers within 60 to 90 days, and an unspecified number of temporary casuals to work through the summer peak season.

McKenna denied that casuals are being used as a cost-saving strategy. "What you want to do is register as many the industry needs."

Port Shakeup 

THE Port of Los Angeles has demoted its director of public affairs, Julia Nagano, to director of corporate communications, effective July 6.

Nagano, a key aide to the port's embattled executive director, Larry Keller, will be replaced by public relations executive Arley Baker, a vice president with Century City-based Rogers & Cowan. Baker will report for his new duties in mid-July. "David is the right person for this position," Keller said in a press released issued on June 23.

Keller had promoted Nagano to the senior management position about two years ago. It was through Nagano's office that Keller repeatedly denied that he was applying for the executive director's post at the Port of Oakland this spring. He was a finalist for the position but the job went to someone within the Oakland port.

Last month, the Business Journal reported that Mayor James Hahn was planning to replace Keller, although he hadn't set a timeline.

Nagano and Keller are among numerous port employees who have been subpoenaed to testify before L.A. County and federal grand juries as part of probes into city contracting practices.

The port also announced the promotion of its director of planning and research, David Mathewson, to the newly created post of director of planning and environmental affairs.

--David Greenberg