Strike Snarls Harbor Traffic

At least six towering cargo ships sat stranded off Los Angeles harbor and millions of dollars’ worth of freight waited on the docks Sunday as a tiny segment of the city’s work force--its 11 union harbor pilots--extended a weekend strike after the collapse of contract talks.

Without the usual complement of pilots, who supervise ship captains as they navigate the narrow waterways off San Pedro, traffic in and out of the nation’s second-busiest harbor threatened to rival that of the city’s freeways.

Congestion is expected to worsen today, when 11 more ships are scheduled to arrive.

“These ships are full of cargo,” said Capt. Manny Aschemeyer, who directs the Marine Exchange, a vessel-monitoring station. “They have to get in somewhere.”

As the pilots picketed outside the gates of three harbor terminals Sunday, two nonunion pilots scrambled to maneuver the cargo ships and a Carnival cruise ship into and out of the harbor to prevent further delays.

Represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 68, the pilots have been negotiating a new contract since their last one expired June 30. The pilots receive a base annual salary of $113,712 annually, and are seeking a 72% raise over two years, to $195,000 annually--the average among major U.S. ports, according to a consultant’s study commissioned for another port.

The strike began Friday night, and harbor officials estimated Sunday that the harbor had lost $874,000 so far.

Pilots picketing Sunday declined to discuss the negotiations, but said in a statement that they are “grossly underpaid in comparison” to pilots in other major ports.

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Julia Nagano, a spokeswoman for the city Harbor Department, said the city’s counteroffer, a raise to $133,000 over four years, was more appropriate because it was “in line” with the raises offered to other city unions. Nagano noted that pilots at most harbors are essentially independent contractors who often must pay for their own medical benefits, and therefore receive higher wages. Los Angeles’ pilots receive medical benefits as part of their contract.

With the pilots’ striking and a busy day expected today, “obviously there are going to be some delays,” Nagano said.

Two cargo ships scheduled to depart Sunday were stuck in their berths, and two others were stranded outside the harbor. An auto carrier and a cargo-container freighter tired of the delay and decided to head for San Diego or Vancouver to unload their cargo, officials said.

Coast Guard officials were monitoring the two nonunion pilots to make sure they were getting enough sleep between ship movements.

“They might have to work, take a break, then work some more,” said Lt. Michael Hunt. “We just don’t know how long it’s going to last.”

Even if the two nonunion pilots can handle all the ship traffic, however, there may not be anyone willing to unload the ships when they pull up to the docks.

At the three terminals picketed by the pilots Sunday, longshoremen from other locals stayed off the job in a show of solidarity. And no truckers showed up to haul cargo from the harbor.

“There’s no point in them being here,” said John Arndt, a pilot for seven years, as he picketed outside the Yusen terminal, where three ships sat idle. “No one crosses an ILWU picket line.”

The strike, the first job action by the pilots since 1990, spotlights an unusual corps of city employees who work around the clock to keep the flow of international trade moving through the San Pedro Bay.

Some see the job as a second career--most don’t even win their positions until they are in their 40s, after years as ship captains.

But it is a job fraught with hazards. Pilots meet approaching ships about two miles from shore and must board them from small speedboats by clambering up rope-and-slat ladders, sometimes in crashing swells and complete darkness.

Then they must navigate the cargo ships, some of which exceed 800 feet in length, through the twists and turns of a busy harbor.

“It can be a little dicey at times,” said James McDaniel, a pilot for 10 years, as the massive ship Ever Ultra floated behind him at the silent Evergreen America terminal. “The only reason you wear a life jacket at night is so they can find your body if you slip. You miss the ladder going in, you’re a goner.”