Shipping group: Longshoremen stopping work at ports in New York, New Jersey

Shipping group: Work stopped at NJ, NY ports

NEWARK, N.J. — A longshoremen’s work stoppage brought parts of Port Newark to a standstill Tuesday, leaving ships filled with containers waiting to be unloaded.

The New York Shipping Association said the stoppage by International Longshoremen’s Association members was related to a protest over the move of some work done by ILA workers in the Philadelphia area to a non-ILA facility in Gloucester City.

The NYSA asked a federal judge in Newark Tuesday to order the longshoremen back to work, asserting that the stoppage violates a no-strike clause in their labor contract.

At Port Newark, groups of workers gathered at the entrances to several gated terminal areas where no traffic moved in or out. Some said they had traveled north from Philadelphia to enlist support from their union brethren.

A shipping association spokeswoman said the stoppage affected 12 ships waiting to be unloaded in the ports of New York and New Jersey. Beverly Fedorko said passenger terminals on New York’s west side were not affected.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the ports, said it was taking steps to minimize the impact of the stoppage.

An ILA spokesman didn’t immediately return a message Tuesday.