A federal judge granted US Pres-ident George W. Bush's request to end a 10-day lockout of about 10,500 union workers at US West Coast ports that's disrupting auto plants, food shipments and trade with Asia.
The ports were set to open last night, shipping companies said.
US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco granted a White House request for a temporary restraining order that forces union employees to return to work until next Wednesday.
After that, the court will hear the government's request for an 80-day "cooling-off period" under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.
"The work stoppage is hurting our entire economy," Bush said at the White House after receiving a report by a fact-finding board. The shutdown "is hurting the security of our country," costing the US as much as US$1 billion and 1,000 farming economy jobs daily while blocking military shipments, he said.
Retailer stocks rose on the prospect of opened ports.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp plans to stop production at an Illinois auto plant tomorrow because of a parts shortage. Dole Food Co sued shipping companies to retrieve 3,628 tonnes of bananas at the Port of Los Angeles. The lockout cost the economy as much as US$19.4 billion in 10 days, consulting firm Martin Associates estimated in a study for shippers.
When ports open, workers will need eight to nine weeks to clear a backlog of cargo, Joe Miniace, chief executive of the shippers' association, told reporters in San Francisco after Bush's decision. The shippers said that in response to the judge's order, they put in orders for dockworkers for a shift that begins tomorrow at 6pm local time.
"We will be taking all work orders for tomorrow evening," said Richard Mead, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 in San Francisco.
Opening the ports will help retailers, said JC Penney Co spokeswoman Stephanie Brown.
"If everything moves in that direction, it's going to be a great move for everyone," she said.
The Pacific Maritime Association, the shippers' group, closed ports in California, Oregon and Washington last month, saying the union slowed work during contract talks. The union said it hadn't slowed work, but had merely made sure workers were following safety rules.
"The seeds of distrust have been widely sown," said the fact-finding report, signed by panel chairman William Brock, and members Patrick Hardin and Dennis Nolan. "We have no confidence that the parties will resolve the West Coast ports dispute within a reasonable time." The government will work with both sides to pursue a settlement, Bush said.
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