Holiday talks bring no end to strike of clerical workers at ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach

LA port clerk strike goes on despite holiday talks

LOS ANGELES — Negotiators in a labor dispute between shippers and clerical workers met for several hours Sunday despite the Independence Day holiday, but a strike at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach showed no signs of ending on its fourth day.

John Fageaux Jr., president of the International Longshore Warehouse Union local that represents about 900 clerical workers, said that during four hours of morning talks his side offered an agreement with no new money, only guarantees that jobs would not be outsourced.

“The union proposed zero increases on the wages and zero increases on the pensions in an effort to resolve the dispute,” Fageaux said. “We’re just asking for job security.”

Fageaux said the union gave employers until 5 p.m. Monday to consider the deal. Talks are set to resume Monday morning.

The shippers are seeking to use new computer programs allowing customers to access booking information, a move that the union has said would endanger jobs.

Stephen Berry, lead negotiator for the Harbor Employees Association, which represents the shippers, said employers have “completely answered” the union’s job security demands and have offered to keep all existing jobs for what he called the “highest paid clerical workers in America.”

“The union continues to demand featherbedding, which means hiring people and bringing in temporary employees when there’s no work to do,” Berry said. “It’s not acceptable.”

Berry also said the guarantees sought by the union would force the hiring of workers with nothing to do, and that the union’s offer of no wage increases would not apply to all of the 14 companies he represents.

The strike that began when the clerks’ contract expired Thursday has caused no apparent disruptions in shipping because the essential paperwork they do is normally finished days in advance.