U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued a statement today on the first steps of President Bush's action on the West Coast ports labor dispute.

"Over the last ten days, much of the nation has been watching the shutdown of the West Coast ports with increasing anxiety," Chao said. "The administration has been closely monitoring the situation and has urged both parties to reach an agreement within the collective bargaining process.

"The Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Peter Hurtgen, has been working non-stop since the shutdown to try to reach a new contract and end the work stoppage."One of the fruits of his efforts is that the union and the management have agreed to allow products to be shipped to Alaska and Hawaii, two states that have been especially hard hit in the last week."

Chao announced that Hurtgen suspended negotiations Sunday night at 11:15 p.m. (PST) with no final resolution to the dispute in sight. This morning, using the authority conferred on him by the Taft-Hartley Act, President George W. Bush signed an executive order creating a Board of Inquiry, to immediately assess and report on the West Coast ports dispute.

"We have given the parties every opportunity to resolve this dispute on their own," Chao said in her report. "Over three months have passed since the labor contract governing the West Coast ports expired. In the last two weeks, there were increasing reports of work slowdowns by the longshoremen's union. Then, on Sept. 29, the Pacific Maritime Association shut down all 29 ports on the West Coast.

"The country has been patient. We have been patient. But now ordinary Americans are being seriously harmed by this dispute. Factory workers are being laid off because they can't get vital parts delivered. These layoffs will only increase if the ports do not re-open this week.

"Family farmers and ranchers are being devastated by the shutdown. Millions - if not billions - of dollars of American produce, meat and poultry are rotting in containers on the docks and on idled trucks and railcars.

"Sixty-five percent of all containerized food shipments from the United States move through the West Coast ports; 40 percent of wheat exports, 25 percent of U.S. grain exports, and 14 percent of corn exports pass through the West Coast ports."Nearly 70 farm and agricultural groups have signed a letter saying that the West Coast ports dispute 'threatens to jeopardize the livelihood of American farmers and ranchers.

'"The shutdown also has serious consequences for our national defense. America's military relies on commercial ships, docking at West Coast ports, to supply our armed forces," said Chao. "Any disruption in the flow of these military shipments could significantly impact the Defense Department's ability to support our men and women in harm's way."

According to Chao, the president has the authority under the Taft-Hartley Act to convene a Board of Inquiry in labor disputes when he concludes there is a threat to the national health and safety. There have been 11 coast-wide strikes or shutdowns under the Taft-Hartley Act. In 11 out of 11 times, the president has convened a Board of Inquiry.

"Today is only the first step in the process," Chao said. Former Tennessee Sen. Bill Brock will chair the three-member board. Brock is former U.S. Secretary of Labor and has experience as a U.S. Trade Representative. The other two members of the Board of Inquiry are Professor Patrick Hardin of the University of Tennessee College of Law, and Professor Dennis Nolan of the University of South Carolina School of Law.

The Board is expected to report to President Bush Tuesday on the facts of the dispute and the parties' positions. After the president receives the report, he may direct the Attorney General John Ashcroft to seek an injunction to end the work stoppage. If the court issues an injunction, the parties will be required to resume normal operation of the ports for 80 days and must work with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to resolve the dispute.