Parties to Dock Strike Are Playing for Keeps

Re “Port Talks Fail; Bush May Act,” Oct. 7: It is not just the retailers looking for their holiday goods who will soon be hurt by the port closure. Many factories have closed their warehouses and gone to “just in time” inventories for their manufacturing operations. This will affect the auto makers, household-goods manufacturers and countless distributors of manufactured goods, from auto parts suppliers to power tool accessories purveyors.

The sooner President Bush realizes that “it’s the economy, stupid!” the better. This little spat along the West Coast can tank any recovery our economy is struggling to achieve--and will--soon.

Ding Kalis

Santa Fe Springs

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Re “Dockworkers Shore Up Their Case,” Commentary, Oct. 4: The media, marching in lock step, have repeatedly reported that the Pacific Maritime Assn. lockout of dockworkers was in response to slowdown tactics by the rank and file. In Miguel Contreras’ piece is the first mention and only reporting I have seen of the maritime association’s gambit--how employers eliminated night shifts and overtime, hoping to spark walkouts or slowdowns to justify a lockout.

The relentless anti-union drumbeat of the corporate media is further evidence of the death of probative journalism in this country and exposes again the myth of the “liberal” media.

Andre Cynkin

Signal Hills

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This has gone on long enough. Bush needs to do the same thing that President Reagan did to the air traffic controllers in 1981: Fire the dockworkers who refuse to perform their jobs. This strike is about to seriously affect the economy and is a crime against America. If these workers want to ensure their job security, they should enroll in a community college to enhance their education to perform the future tasks of a modern world. They are only hurting themselves with this disruption.

Fred Williams

Oceanside