Dockworkers Weigh Contract Proposal

The nation’s busiest seaport complex was idle Thursday as thousands of union dockworkers took the day off to weigh a proposed new contract.

Cranes and terminals at the twin harbors of Los Angeles and Long Beach were silent while rank-and-file members of the International Warehousemen’s and Longshoremen’s Union gathered to review a three-year contract negotiated with the steamship lines that employ them. They are expected back to work today.

The accord offers a raise in the workers’ base pay and grants them wider jurisdiction over trucking jobs inside the ports, but would cut down on outside agreements that some skilled workers had with certain terminals.

Under the expired contract, union members considered to be particularly productive could be rewarded by being paid for more hours than they actually worked. The new pact would forbid that practice.