Ports’ Widening Strike Halts Cargo Operations

Cargo operations at Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors came to a virtual halt Thursday after 240 machinists walked off their jobs, widening a strike begun Monday by office workers.

More than 4,000 dockworkers honored picket lines Thursday morning, bringing work at all but a handful of the two ports’ 67 cargo terminals to a standstill.

Late in the day, an arbitrator ruled that longshoremen could not legally honor machinists’ picket lines and ordered them to return to work at terminals struck only by machinists. Some dockworkers then returned to their jobs, according to Terry Lane, regional manager of the Pacific Maritime Assn., an employers’ group.

Lane said two ships that had been idled were being worked by late afternoon and that longshoremen agreed to be back on the job for the shift beginning at 6 p.m.

Long-Term Impact

Officials at both ports said it is too early to determine the long-term impact of the work stoppage. The week preceding Independence Day is typically slow at the ports, they said. The two harbors will be open today, but will close Saturday, the day longshoremen commemorate the founding of their union 52 years ago.

“We are basically at a complete port stoppage, and obviously our revenues are going to be affected,” said Port of Long Beach spokesman Elmar Baxter. “But to what extent, we just don’t know.”

Members of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1484 walked off their jobs at midnight Wednesday in a dispute over wages. The workers repair machinery used to load and unload ships and are employed at most terminals.

The machinists’ action came two days after 240 office workers who are members of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union Local 63 walked off their jobs at nine steamship and stevedoring companies. Dockworkers also have refused to cross those picket lines.

8 Ships Idled

Lane said only five ships were being loaded or unloaded on Thursday, while eight others sat idle in the harbors. Two ships left the harbors early in the day without loading or unloading, he said. On an average day, 25 ships are berthed at the two harbors.

Among eight ships that sat idle was the 450-foot-long Tokyo Rainbow, based in Taiwan and registered in Panama, with a crew of 23. The crew was waiting word from the ship’s agent on whether to stay or pull up anchor and head to the Port of Oakland. The vessel had anchored in Los Angeles on Wednesday but managed to unload only 70% of its cargo.

“We don’t have anything to do but just sit here and wait,” said C. L. Chang, the vessel’s first engineer. Chang said crew members had gone shopping for groceries in the morning, but otherwise had done little since the strike began.

Machinists and employers resumed negotiations Thursday afternoon. Tom Burniston, business agent for the machinists’ local, said the main issue in the dispute is wages. Machinists earn an average of $18.27 an hour, he said, and are seeking a $1-an-hour raise. Employers have offered a 50-cent-an-hour raise, he said.

Another Strike Began Tuesday

Burniston said that in addition to the 240 machinists who walked off their jobs Wednesday at midnight, 50 others who are bargaining with a separate employers’ group struck Tuesday. The smaller group is employed at two terminals in Long Beach.

Meanwhile, no new negotiations were scheduled between office workers and employers. Negotiations between the two sides broke down early Tuesday over job security issues.

Office workers called off the strike against two companies when both firms agreed to abide by whatever settlement is reached with the remaining seven employers.