Time runs short for US deal to avert costly longsh

Time runs short for US deal to avert costly longshoremen's strike that could cripple ports,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
containerized cargo traffic. Losing them to a shutdown,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], even for a few days,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], could cost the economy billions of dollars.
"If the port shuts down, nothing moves in or out," said Jonathan Gold, vice-president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. And when the workers do return, "it's going to take time to clear out that backlog,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and we don't know how long that it's going to take."
Shipments of such varied products as flat-screen TVs, sneakers and snow shovels would either sit idle at sea or get rerouted, at great time and expense. factories also rely on container ships for parts and raw materials, meaning supply lines for all sorts of products could be squeezed.
Joseph Ahlstrom,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a professor at the State University of New York's Maritime College and a former cargo ship captain, called container ships the "lifeblood of the country."
"We don't fly in a lot of products. It's just too expensive," Ahlstrom said. Maritime Alliance,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a group representing shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], expired in September. local time Sunday.
The union said its members would agree to an extension only if the Maritime Alliance dropped a proposal to freeze the royalties workers get for every container they unload. The Alliance has argued that the longshoremen, who it said earn an average $124,138 per year in wages and benefits, are compensated well enough already.
Federal mediators have been trying to push negotiations along, but there has been no word from either side on the progress of the talks since Dec. 24. As recently as Dec. 19, the president of the longshoremen, Harold Daggett, said the talks weren't going well and that a strike was expected.
The work stoppage would not be absolute. Longshoremen would continue to handle military cargo, mail, passenger ships, non-containerized items like automobiles,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and perishable commodities,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], like fresh food.
Yet the economic damage could still be severe,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych].
"The global economy moves by water, and shutting down container ports along the East and Gulf coasts while the national economy remains fragile benefits no one,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," Deborah Hadden, acting port director at Massport,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the public agency that oversees shipping terminals in Boston. It is not a part of the contract dispute.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said "the livelihood of thousands of Florida families lies in the balance,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]."
The White House weighed in, too, urging dockworkers and shipping companies Thursday to reach agreement "as quickly as possible" on a contract extension. Obama spokesman Matt Lehrich said the administration is monitoring the situation closely.
If it happens, the walkout could be the biggest national port disruption since 2002, when unionized dockworkers were locked out of 29 West Coast ports for 10 days because of a contract dispute.
The ports only reopened after President George W. Bush, invoking powers given to him by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, ordered an 80-day cooling-off period. economy $1 billion. Truck drivers might not have any cargo to transport, tug boat captains no ships to guide and freight train operators nothing to haul.
Simultaneously,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], another labour dispute involving dock workers was playing out on the West Coast.
Longshoremen at several Pacific Northwest grain terminals worked Thursday under contract terms they soundly rejected last weekend. The owners implemented the terms after declaring talks at an impasse. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has yet to announce its next move.
The dispute involves terminals in Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, Washington, and Seattle,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], where longshoremen have been working without an agreement since the last contract expired Sept. 30..
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