Talks begin with mediator in port lockout

SAN FRANCISCO -- With imports blocked and industries feeling the pinch, dockworkers and shipping officials began talks with a federal mediator Thursday to try to resolve a five-day-old West Coast port shutdown.

The stalemate has stopped all commercial shipping at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington.

"I think we all feel the pressure," Peter Hurtgen, the federal mediator responsible for ending the bitter contract dispute, said before negotiations began at a San Francisco hotel. "Every hour is another hour of economic harm."

Along the coast, 162 ships were either idle at the docks or have dropped anchor, waiting to unload cargo, according to the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the shipping lines and terminal operators.

The economic impact of the work stoppage was accelerating and could be costing the U.S. economy $2 billion a day, said Robert Parry, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

"With the economy suffering like this, it's just time to put people back to work," Jim Spinosa, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said Thursday before talks began.

Shipping lines spokesman Tom Edwards said he looked forward "to participating in a productive meeting."

After talks broke down last week, the Pacific Maritime Association locked out about 10,500 dockworkers Sunday, claiming they had engaged in an illegal slowdown.

The two sides are at odds over pensions and other benefits, as well as the union's demand to control any new jobs that would come with the introduction of modern cargo-handling technology.

The Bush administration continued to say it hopes the sides can settle their differences at the negotiating table, although manufacturers and truckers have called for White House intervention.

A group of manufacturers planned to meet with White House officials today to press their case.