PMA, ILWU Urged to End West Coast Port Conflict
November 15, 2002
Joseph Miniace, President
Pacific Maritime Association
550 California Street San Francisco, CA 94104-1060
James Spinosa, President
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
1188 Franklin Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94109
Dear Messrs. Miniace and Spinosa:
We write on behalf of not only our companies and their workers but also the broader U.S. economy, to urge that you take advantage of the cooling-off period afforded by the President's invocation of the Taft-Hartley Act to negotiate a meaningful reconciliation of your differences.
However heartfelt your disagreements may be, if they are allowed to degenerate into another shutdown of the West Coast ports the result will be a devastating blow to the already fragile U.S. economy.
Even though the ports have reopened, it will be up to two months before the backlog has cleared. The damage of the first shutdown – in terms of lost opportunities, lost jobs and spoiled merchandise – is already in the billions of dollars, and will probably never be fully tallied. Another shutdown would be even more catastrophic domestically and send a sharply negative message to our global trading partners about the reliability of shipping into and out of the United States.
Ultimately, as you know, only you can craft a resolution that will permanently resolve this conflict. We urge both sides to put the concerns of our national health, safety and security first, and work in good faith to move forward and reach a mutually acceptable compromise. It is no exaggeration to say that the health of the nation's economy – and, with it, the livelihoods of employers and employees – depends on your doing so.
We are heartened by recent reports that tentative agreements may have been reached on some issues. We encourage you to continue to make progress and announce a final agreement as soon as possible so that American employers and employees can be assured that another port shutdown will not occur.
Sincerely,
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