While the dockworkers' union and port management stare each other down in a stalemate over technology and job security, the U.S. economy and trucking industry loses more each day the ports remain closed. Who will blink first - the dockworkers' union or management?

The Pacific Maritime Association closed the ports Sunday, locking out the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in response to union work slowdowns. Now, the PMA refuses to reopen the ports unless the ILWU agrees to extend their expired contract while negotiations continue. But, the ILWU won't budge until management reopens the port.

In the meantime, trucks loaded with fresh produce and other exports wait in a holding pen with no hope of being unloaded any time soon. Retailers are calling on President George W. Bush to take immediate action to reopen the West Coast ports, warning the shutdown could lead to retail store closings, layoffs and shortages of consumer products during the holiday shopping season. And, the national economy loses $1 billion dollars each day the ports are closed, according to research by the University of California Berkley.

The National Retail Federation President and CEO Tracy Mullin wrote a letter to the president, asking for his intervention to reopen the ports. "With the retail industry and consumer spending largely propping up a weak economy, the inability to get goods off the ships will quickly result in idling of distribution centers, closure of stores and layoffs of workers," Mullin wrote. "U.S. consumers will also quickly see an impact as goods become unavailable and prices rise."
--René Tankersley, feature editor