Since talks broke off in late July, the union representing 10,500 longshoremen has charged employers with courting federal intervention. Shipping lines have called for a mediator to break a stalemate that could endanger the distribution of billions of dollars worth of goods which move through Pacific ports each year.

The longshoremen's contract expired July 1, but both sides agreed to rolling 24-hour extensions.

A new contract also is being negotiated for about 480 dockworkers in Hawai'i.

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 and the Hawaii Employers Council, which represents the stevedoring industry in Hawai'i, have agreed to extend their contract while a new agreement is being worked out. Hawai'i dockworkers traditionally have followed the lead of their West Coast counterparts on contract issues.

A strike by dockworkers could cripple Hawai'i's economy, which relies on shipping for about 90 percent of goods.

In San Francisco today, negotiators for the Pacific Maritime Association restarted their talks at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's headquarters.

Going into that meeting, each side had been leveling the same charges against the other ­ that their proposals are designed to be rejected; that they are bargaining in bad faith over job security; and that they aren't compromising enough on wage and benefits proposals.

On Friday, association president Joseph Miniace called for an outside mediator to help break what have become adversarial negotiations.

Perhaps the most disputed issue is how to bring increased automation to the waterfront.

While $300 billion in goods will flow into and out of the Pacific's 29 major ports this year, that volume is projected to double in the next decade. Shipping lines complain West Coast ports won't be able to keep up unless they upgrade with new technology ­ the union says that's fine as long as registered longshoremen get the benefits from increased efficiency.

With so much at stake, the Bush administration convened a task force to explore federal intervention and has been monitoring talks.

The union requested a break from the table soon after an assembly of rank-and-file longshoremen unanimously rejected a contract proposal from the shipping association.

Since then, the union has mounted a campaign charging that federal officials have threatened to man the docks with troops if there's any hint of a work slowdown or strike.