Thursday, October 03, 2002
Re: West Coast Strike Questions

Dear NASA Members:

Here are answers to some of the more frequently asked questions that we are getting from you regarding the strike:

1. What is happening next? Spinosa (ILWU) and Miniace (PMA) will be in Washington, DC today (Thursday) to meet with Federal mediators. This is an exploratory meeting, so that they can decide whether they wish to begin mediation, or not. So Thursday's meeting will give us an idea of whether they will agree to start mediation. If they do, it would mean they would likely go back to work during the mediation process.

2. How does Taft-Hartley work? Because the Rail Labor Act does not apply to maritime, the President cannot simply step in and replace the longshore workers. Taft-Hartley is a relatively weak law. Under it, the President can seek an injunction in court, forcing both labor and management back to work and to negotiation. If granted however, it only extends for 80 days, and then we could end up back where we are now.

3. Isn't Taft-Hartley limited to strikes, as was indicated in a previous Newsflash? We asked for some clarification from an attorney and consequently found out that Taft-Hartley is a response to a "job action." Over the past year, PMA has carefully monitored the productivity (throughput) at each of the West Coast ports, in order to establish a benchmark. Thus, when the ILWU slowdown occurred last week, PMA could prove a dramatic drop in productivity, which it claims constituted a "job action." PMA responded with what it claims to be a "defensive" lockout. Notice their emphasis on "defensive" to show that they were responding to a job action taken by the union.

4. If the President seeks and obtains the injunction under Taft-Hartley, when is it effective? Immediately.

5. Is Taft-Hartley the preferred approach? Honestly, we do not think so. Taft-Hartley is seen by labor as sort of a "gun at the head," and while they would be forced to return to work, productivity could certainly suffer. Far better would be if both the union and management perceived it to be in their own best interest to return to work while negotiating sincerely. For this reason, we are asking (through an Agricultural lobby in Washington D.C.) that many of the union's Democratic allies on Capitol Hill urge the union to return to the negotiating table or to mediation.

We will try and keep you as up to date as possible as the situation changes.

Kind regards,
Judy Mannix, Administrator
North American Shippers Association