Posted on: Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Dock protest today targets one company

By Simon Avery
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The union representing West Coast port workers yesterday singled out one company as the "primary roadblock" to reaching a labor agreement after months of difficult negotiations.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said its members will march today on Stevedoring Services of America facilities in Oakland and Long Beach, Calif., and in Seattle. The ILWU said SSA, based in Seattle, is hampering progress with its "anti-union" stance.

"While most employers want to work with us to implement new technologies, SSA is undermining negotiations because their primary interest is breaking the union," ILWU President James Spinosa said.

About 10,500 full-time union members have been working without any form of contract since Sept. 1, when two sides stopped agreeing to 24-hour contract extensions. Any labor stoppage would be felt nationally, with more than $300 billion worth of imports and exports flowing through the 29 West Coast ports covered by the ILWU contract.

The ILWU said SSA, the largest terminal operator in the nation, is unfairly using its weight to dominate the Pacific Maritime Association, which is negotiating the contract on behalf of the 87 shipping and stevedore companies it represents.

Ed DeNike, senior vice president of SSA, did not return calls yesterday, but a PMA statement said the association remains united in its approach to negotiations.