Snouter
09-28-2002, 04:58 PM
As the Unibomber Manifesto demands, technology must be dismantled. This is in accordance with Marxism. Also in accordance with Marxism is unions. They seek to prevent technological advancement since it will endanger their jobs. In addition, they sabatoge the economy by pulling stunts that cause situations like this.
Ports Paralyzed; Talks Stall
Sat Sep 28, 3:51 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. West Coast ports were paralyzed on Saturday as a management lockout kept thousands of union longshoremen from their jobs, disrupting shipping schedules and fueling fears that stalled contract talks could wreak havoc on the stumbling U.S. economy.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which operates 29 ports on the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle, ordered the lockout on Friday evening as a "cooling off" period amid charges that union workers had staged work slowdowns on docks which handle some $300 billion in trade annually.
The lockout, which is scheduled to end on Sunday morning, spurred federal mediators to head to San Francisco in hopes of jump-starting contract talks between the PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents some 10,500 West Coast dock workers.
A PMA spokesman said on Saturday that operations at all major West Coast ports -- including Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle -- were at a standstill.
PMA ports handle more than half of all U.S. trade, and the association has estimated that each day of the work stoppage could cost the economy as much as $1 billion.
Union officials confirmed newspaper reports that a top federal labor negotiator had traveled to San Francisco in an effort to defuse the escalating tension in the four-month-old contract dispute, which centers on differences over how best to introduce new technology into port operations.
But ILWU spokesman Jeremy Prillwitz said the union was not prepared to enter into mediation on the dispute.
"We are not supportive of using a mediator," Prillwitz said on Saturday. "We have continued to say that we don't want to use that approach."
Coast Guard officials in San Francisco said more container ships than normal were anchoring while they waited to unload cargo, while officials at other ports were also preparing to line ships up in preparation for the expected resumption of longshore work on Sunday.
The sudden stop in shipping traffic created long lines of trucks outside cargo facilities, leaving many drivers fuming that they would be unable to make deliveries according to their tight transport schedules.
Regional railways also took steps to deal with the unexpected stoppage, ordering some containers put into storage and asking shippers to hold off on new deliveries until the back-up is cleared.
"It's all to deal with congestion," said Mike Furtney, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad, which usually moves an estimated 3,500 cargo containers out of West Coast port facilities each day.
NO PEACE ON THE WATERFRONT
Friday's lockout decision -- the first ever ordered by the PMA -- marked a sharp downturn in contract negotiations, which have hit numerous snags since the union's last contract expired on July 1.
The main sticking point is technology. Port managers say technological innovation is crucial to keeping U.S. port operations competitive, but ILWU leaders fear it may end up costing union jobs.
On Friday, ILWU President James Spinosa said the union had made "expansive proposals" for new port computer technology, but that the PMA had refused to guarantee union control over existing and new port jobs.
The PMA, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, said it ordered the lockout in response to what it called a concerted program of union work slowdowns which had cut port productivity by as much as 90 percent.
"Work slowdowns are how this union strikes, and they want to be paid for it," PMA President and Chief Executive Office Joe Miniace said on Friday. "We will not tolerate the union's calculated work actions, and have exhausted every option to keep peace on the waterfront."
The ILWU has denied that any work slowdowns were under way, blaming the snarled container traffic on unusually heavy cargo volume as U.S. importers get ready to stock shelves ahead of the holiday season.
Officials at both the ILWU and the PMA said they expected port operations to resume as normal on Sunday morning, although the extended outlook remained uncertain.
"We want to work. But we will just have to see what happens," said Prillwitz, the ILWU spokesman.
Ports Paralyzed; Talks Stall
Sat Sep 28, 3:51 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. West Coast ports were paralyzed on Saturday as a management lockout kept thousands of union longshoremen from their jobs, disrupting shipping schedules and fueling fears that stalled contract talks could wreak havoc on the stumbling U.S. economy.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which operates 29 ports on the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle, ordered the lockout on Friday evening as a "cooling off" period amid charges that union workers had staged work slowdowns on docks which handle some $300 billion in trade annually.
The lockout, which is scheduled to end on Sunday morning, spurred federal mediators to head to San Francisco in hopes of jump-starting contract talks between the PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents some 10,500 West Coast dock workers.
A PMA spokesman said on Saturday that operations at all major West Coast ports -- including Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle -- were at a standstill.
PMA ports handle more than half of all U.S. trade, and the association has estimated that each day of the work stoppage could cost the economy as much as $1 billion.
Union officials confirmed newspaper reports that a top federal labor negotiator had traveled to San Francisco in an effort to defuse the escalating tension in the four-month-old contract dispute, which centers on differences over how best to introduce new technology into port operations.
But ILWU spokesman Jeremy Prillwitz said the union was not prepared to enter into mediation on the dispute.
"We are not supportive of using a mediator," Prillwitz said on Saturday. "We have continued to say that we don't want to use that approach."
Coast Guard officials in San Francisco said more container ships than normal were anchoring while they waited to unload cargo, while officials at other ports were also preparing to line ships up in preparation for the expected resumption of longshore work on Sunday.
The sudden stop in shipping traffic created long lines of trucks outside cargo facilities, leaving many drivers fuming that they would be unable to make deliveries according to their tight transport schedules.
Regional railways also took steps to deal with the unexpected stoppage, ordering some containers put into storage and asking shippers to hold off on new deliveries until the back-up is cleared.
"It's all to deal with congestion," said Mike Furtney, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad, which usually moves an estimated 3,500 cargo containers out of West Coast port facilities each day.
NO PEACE ON THE WATERFRONT
Friday's lockout decision -- the first ever ordered by the PMA -- marked a sharp downturn in contract negotiations, which have hit numerous snags since the union's last contract expired on July 1.
The main sticking point is technology. Port managers say technological innovation is crucial to keeping U.S. port operations competitive, but ILWU leaders fear it may end up costing union jobs.
On Friday, ILWU President James Spinosa said the union had made "expansive proposals" for new port computer technology, but that the PMA had refused to guarantee union control over existing and new port jobs.
The PMA, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, said it ordered the lockout in response to what it called a concerted program of union work slowdowns which had cut port productivity by as much as 90 percent.
"Work slowdowns are how this union strikes, and they want to be paid for it," PMA President and Chief Executive Office Joe Miniace said on Friday. "We will not tolerate the union's calculated work actions, and have exhausted every option to keep peace on the waterfront."
The ILWU has denied that any work slowdowns were under way, blaming the snarled container traffic on unusually heavy cargo volume as U.S. importers get ready to stock shelves ahead of the holiday season.
Officials at both the ILWU and the PMA said they expected port operations to resume as normal on Sunday morning, although the extended outlook remained uncertain.
"We want to work. But we will just have to see what happens," said Prillwitz, the ILWU spokesman.