Catherwood LibraryILR School

White House officials confirmed this morning that the president will today establish a three-person board of inquiry to report on the economic damage being caused by the current lockout in contract negotiations between West Coast dockworkers and shipping companies (see WIT for Sep. 30 and Oct. 2, 2002). The first step to ordering both sides back to work and the bargaining table under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, the panel would likely report on the status of the negotiations and their economic impact within the week---clearing the way for a federal court ordered cooling off period. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has condemned the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) for the lockout and denies engaging in supposed slowdowns that the PMA cited as justification for the lockout, but has vehemently opposed government intervention in the dispute.