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After agreeing to sixty-five separate one-day extension of their previous contract with the Pacific Maritime Association (see WIT for June 28, 2002), the International Longshore and Warehouse Union allowed the contract covering 10,500 West Coast dockworkers to expire Sunday evening citing bad faith bargaining by management as the reason. Although under its constitution the union is required to conduct a ballot by mail before calling a strike, the decision allows the union to engage in slowdowns---a tactic that has proven successful in the past, and one that the union has not ruled out despite management?s threats to respond to any such industrial action with a lockout. Both sides insist that they are willing to engage in real talks, and continue to trade blame for the current breakdown, much as they did when talks stalled in late July (see WIT?s for July 22, and August 21, 2002).