FMC POSTPONES TSA INVESTIGATION FIELD HEARINGS

FMC POSTPONES TSA INVESTIGATION FIELD HEARINGS    The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has decided to postpone a series of field hearings on the West Coast concerning the practices of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement shipping lines during the 2002-2003 service contract season.
   “Considering the protracted management-labor dispute at U.S. West Coast ports, and the immediate needs of the industry to focus on moving U.S. commerce … the investigative officer, in his discretion, has determined that these hearings shall be postponed until further notice,” the FMC said.
   The meetings were scheduled for Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. in Long Beach, Calif.; Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. in San Francisco; and Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. in Seattle.
   The FMC opened a fact-finding investigation in August to examine allegations made by non-vessel-operating common carriers that TSA carriers discriminated against them in their 2002-2003 service contracts, when compared to the way they treated proprietary shippers. FMC Commissioner Joseph Brennan is in charge of the investigation.