With no end near, talks conclude for day in strike of clerical workers at LA, Long Beach ports

Talks conclude for day in LA port strike

LOS ANGELES — Another round of talks ended Monday with negotiators for shipping companies and clerical workers finding little common ground in efforts to end a strike at the nation’s busiest port complex, now in its fifth day.

Union negotiator John Fageaux Jr. said virtually no progress was made toward acquiring the job security guarantees and provisions against outsourcing that workers are seeking.

“We’re very disappointed,” said Fageaux, president of the International Longshore Warehouse Union local that represents about 900 clerical workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “We should be able to get this thing done.”

But Stephen Berry, lead negotiator for the Harbor Employees Association, which represents the shippers, said the guarantees sought by the union would force the hiring of workers with nothing to do.

“The union continues to press demands on who we hire and when we hire them, whether there is any need or not,” Berry said.

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

Negotiations are set to resume Tuesday at 1 p.m.

The union has made an offer of no wage or pension increases for workers of one of the 14 companies with which it is negotiating a new contract. That company, which Berry identified as Cosco Shipping Agency, has until Monday evening to respond to the offer.

Fageaux said he was not optimistic an agreement would be reached, even though the wage increases the union previously sought from that company have been taken off the table.

Berry said the union’s proposal would boost already high health care costs by 49 percent and that it includes unacceptable staffing demands.

The union’s contract proposals for the other 13 employers still include wage increases of up to 22 percent, Berry said.

Under the expired contract, the clerical workers had an average salary of $96,900 a year, full medical coverage, at least 21 paid holidays, 13 sick days and four weeks of vacation per year, he said.

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. Workers are also actively striking only two of the 14 employers, Berry said.