ILWU TO PICKET AT PORT OF LOS ANGELES? PIER 400 OPENING

ILWU TO PICKET AT PORT OF LOS ANGELESÆ PIER 400 OPENING    The International Longshore & Warehouse Union said it intended to demonstrate outside the grand opening Thursday night of the Port of Los Angeles’s new Pier 400 Maersk Sealand terminal.
   “Labor built Maersk and it is labor, specifically ILWU labor, that will make this new facility a success,” said James Spinosa, president of the ILWU.
   The ILWU has been in contract talks with the Pacific Maritime Association, of which Maersk is a prominent member.
   A Maersk spokesman had no comment about the union’s statement.
   The ILWU also said it expected a legislative hearing to begin on Friday to determine the extent of alleged involvement by the Bush administration in the union’s negotiations with the PMA. The joint hearing before members of the California Senate and Assembly labor committees will be held at a community center in Wilmington, Calif.