West Coast Cargo Traffic Halted By Port Protests
- Original CBS13/CW31 article: West Coast Cargo Traffic Halted By Port Protests
West Coast cargo traffic came to a halt Thursday as port workers staged daylong anti-war protests to commemorate May Day, terminal operators said Thursday.
Thousands of dockworkers did not show up for the morning shift, leaving ships and truck drivers idle at ports from Long Beach to Seattle, Pacific Maritime Association spokesman Steve Getzug said.
Workers were expected to return for the start of the evening shift, he said.
"There's no work happening so that means there's no cargo being unloaded and certainly being loaded either," Getzug said.
The West Coast ports are the nation's principal gateway for cargo container traffic from the Far East.
J. Craig Shearman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, said shippers and exporters expected no significant, long-term disruptions from the walkout.
"This is something that happens every year," Shearman said. "Shippers and exporters know about it and plan around it, and we don't expect to see any significant disruptions from it."
He said longshore workers on the West Coast took the day off last year to participate in immigration rallies.
Longshore workers handle everything from operating cranes at port marine terminals to clerical work like coordinating truck cargo deliveries.
The walkout came despite a decision from an arbitrator on Wednesday ordering the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to tell members to show up for work.
Arbitrator John Kagel declared that a unilateral walkout by longshore workers would violate the union's labor contract.
The union stood by its members on Thursday, issuing a statement saying workers were exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the U.S. war in Iraq.
At the Port of Oakland, protesters walked picket lines to convince truckers to take part in the work action.
The truckers were not being blocked from entering the facilities.
Workers at the Port Of Stockton were also participating. But the workers at the Port of Sacramento are not because they belong to a different union.
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