Catherwood LibraryILR School

As West Coast dockworkers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) struggle to clear up the logjam caused by a ten-day lockout called by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) in response to alleged slowdowns (see WIT for Sep. 30, 2002), management is again leveling accusation of slowdowns. In a sign that President Bush?s invocation of the Taft-Hartley Act to end the lockout and force docks to reopen will do little to solve the underlying issues or end the conflict (see WIT?s for Oct. 9 and 7, 2002), the PMA has announced that it may go to the U.S. Attorney?s office and Federal court seeking injunctions, fines and jail sentences against union leaders. While management insists that the union is engaging in planned slowdowns that have cut productivity by twenty-five percent, the union has countered that they are dealing with the massive backlog of cargo as quickly as they safely can and have invited federal and state safety inspectors to come down to the docks and observe their members at work.