>From the Los Angeles Times. Article is at
http://www.ilwu.org/solidarityday/LATimes20021003.htm
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Union Agrees to Federal Mediation, but West Coast Ports Remain Closed
Labor: Maritime group wants assurance that there will be no more work slowdowns before it agrees to allow offloading of ships.
By DAN WEIKEL and NANCY CLEELAND TIMES STAFF WRITERS October 3 2002
[...]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called for President Bush to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which would force the ports to reopen during an 80-day cooling-off period, if the standoff isn't resolved by the end of the week.
[...]
Also Wednesday, a national federation of trucking companies joined the ranks of business groups that have asked the White House to mandate an end to the lockout.
The American Trucking Assn. said in an open letter to Bush that the lockout is threatening the nation's economy and security as accumulating ships "enrich target opportunities for terrorists."
[...]
Meanwhile, at Port Hueneme in Ventura County, police in riot gear were called out Wednesday afternoon when picketing workers tried to prevent a Del Monte ship carrying a load of bananas from leaving the dock. Tensions boiled over about 2:30 p.m. when workers on the ship tried to pull up the vessel's gangplank as it prepared to leave for Ensenada.
Angry pickets surrounded one ship worker and started pushing and shoving him when he attempted to draw the ship's moorings.
Dozens of Port Hueneme and Oxnard police officers, outfitted in riot gear and armed with batons and pepper spray, descended on the docks to restore order.
No arrests were made. Del Monte officials have decided to keep the ship at the dock for now.
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"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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