PMA: ILWU TECHNOLOGY PROPOSAL FALLS SHORT

PMA: ILWU TECHNOLOGY PROPOSAL FALLS SHORT    The Pacific Maritime Association on Wednesday said a technology proposal put forward by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union earlier this week during collective bargaining sessions in San Francisco.
   “We are pleased that the union has finally recognized the need to modernize the West Coast ports and introduce technology to the terminals,” said Joe Miniace, president of the PMA.
   “This is the union’s first proposal on technology, and comes more than two months after contract negotiations began. We plan on providing a very constructive counter-proposal.”
   The ILWU’s offer “does not adequately address the technology and efficiency needs of the West Coast waterfront,” Miniace said. “This proposal may have taken the ball a few yards down the field, but there’s a long way to go with time running out on the clock.”
   Steve Stallone, a spokesman for the ILWU, said that, as of mid-day Thursday, the PMA had not come up with a counterproposal. Stallone described Miniace’s statement as “gobbledygook.”