ILWU REJECTS CONTRACT EXTENSION, SAYS ALL IS QUIET

ILWU REJECTS CONTRACT EXTENSION, SAYS ALL IS QUIET    Although the International Longshore & Warehouse Union has refused to extend its contract with the Pacific Maritime Association, an ILWU spokesman told Shippers' NewsWire that “negotiations are continuing. Everything else has quieted down.”
   Joe Miniace, president and chief executive officer of the PMA, had asked the ILWU last weekend to return to the 24-hour contract extensions that were in place from July 1 to Sept. 1.
   The union has rejected a claim by the PMA that the ILWU’s refusal to extend the contract meant slowdowns were likely.
   “We are focused on negotiations,” the union spokesman said.
   The ILWU noted that labor shortages in Tacoma last Friday night “arose because of the crush of work at the port.”
   The PMA said that incidents such as the shortages in Tacoma should not “become the basis for a wider confrontation.”
   In the event “of further slowdowns,” the PMA board “reaffirmed its policy that there would be a need for a collective response.”
   “Several factors, all related to the peak season, are combining to make productivity lag,” a union statement said.
   “The huge volume of cargo has required many terminals to move to ‘grounded operations,’ stacking containers four high, instead of the previous ‘wheeled operation,’ where containers are kept on chassis for easier movement out to waiting trucks,” the ILWU said.