Dockworker strike cripples California ports

SAN FRANCISCO (July 8, 1999) – Striking dockworkers shut down the Port of Oakland and staged slowdowns in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, crippling distribution of freight from U.S. West Coast ports.

In Oakland, which handles 33 shipping lines and 12% of West Coast shipping, cargo ships were forced to slow down across the Pacific Ocean or wait at anchor in San Francisco Bay. Trucks were backed up outside the port for a half-mile.

More than 1400 dockworkers are protesting what they termed a safety issue.

The work stoppage was spontaneous and not related to ongoing negotiations over a new labor agreement, Steve Stallone, a spokesman for Local 10 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, told Associated Press.

The union said longshore workers quit working Tuesday morning after port management refused their request to hire additional spotters to monitor the port’s cargo cranes.

Meantime, workers at the port are without a contract and negotiations between the union and Pacific Maritime Association continue. The previous deal expired on July 1.

The PMA said union leaders are studying a proposed wage and benefits package that would make the West Coast longshore union members among the highest compensated union workers in America.

Average 1998 annual compensation ranges from $99,016 for longshore workers, $117,617 for clerks, and $156,251 for foremen, the PMA said.

The union said these figures represent total employer costs, including taxes and benefits, and are not reflective of actual salaries.