Ports busy once again

By Tina Page
On-line Forty-Niner

West Coast ports resumed operations temporarily at 6 p.m. Wednesday until a permanent contract can be negotiated between Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore Workers Union. President Bush requested on Monday that a federal court invoke the powers granted in the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which would force workers back to the docks for 80 days while contract negotiations continued.
 
U.S. District Judge William Alsup denied the Bush administration the 80-day cooling-off period. Instead, Alsup ordered a temporary restraining order Tuesday that will last until 5 p.m. on Oct. 17 forcing the dockworkers back  to work until that date. Alsup also ordered that the administration return to court on Oct. 16 with evidence to prove that the closure of the ports puts the nation’s health and safety at risk before granting the Taft-Hartley request, National Public Radio’s Lara Sidell said on “Which Way L.A.?” Tuesday evening.
 
The move by the federal government to intervene in negotiation proceedings is being viewed as a blow to the ILWU, according to the Friends of Labor Web site.
 
The PMA claims the forced reopening of the ports as a victory to itself and to the American economy.
 
“The Taft-Hartley forces us to go back to work for 80 days,” the union member said. “During those 80 days the union and management are forced to return to negotiations. At the end of the 80 days the management proposes its final offer for a contract. The entire union (10,500 members) will then vote on whether or not to accept the contract.
 
The PMA claims that the president’s interference is necessary because the ILWU is refusing to accept the contracts that they are proposing, according to the PMA Web site.

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