IN THE NEWS - US West Coast Ports Shut Down

IN THE NEWS - October 5, 2002: US West Coast Ports Shut Down

By Caty Weaver¹

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program In The News.

A labor² dispute in the United States closed twenty-nine ports along the West Coast at the beginning of this week.
The ports are extremely important to the economy. About three-hundred-thousand-million dollars worth of goods
pass through them every year. Half of all American imports and exports pass through the West Coast ports.
Financial experts say the closings cost the United States economy as much as one-thousand-million dollars a day.

The Pacific Maritime³ Association ordered the closings. It represents West Coast shipping⁴ companies and port
operators. It says port workers had been purposely and illegally slowing operations. The port owners say they
would not continue to pay the workers if they were not going to work at full production levels.

The men and women who work at the ports are called longshoremen or dockworkers. Some of the workers load
and unload ships. Others carry out administrative⁵ duties. The workers belong to the International Longshore and
Warehouse⁶ Union, a powerful labor group. The shutdown of the ports forced more than ten-thousand
dockworkers to stop working.

The union denies that its members had purposely slowed their work. It says that workers were simply following
safety rules and other work terms more closely than in the past. Union officials say they ordered the workers to
do so after the deaths of five longshoremen this year.

The longshoremen’s union and the port operators have been trying to negotiate a new labor agreement since
May. The last work agreement ended in July. Both sides say there is one major disagreement blocking the
agreement. It is a dispute over the possible use of new technology that would speed the movement of goods. The
port operators say the technology is needed for their businesses to compete fairly. But, the union says the
technology threatens the jobs of its workers.

The closings of the ports caused more than one-hundred huge ships to wait near the West Coast of the United
States. Most of the ships are too large to travel on the Panama Canal to get to East Coast ports. The ships are
filled with millions of containers of goods from Asia. These include cars, electronics, sports goods, clothes and
food for American stores. The ships also carry parts needed for building automobiles⁷, computers, machinery⁸ and
many other products.

Some companies are considering shipping some goods by air. However, that costs about four times more than
transport by sea.

On Thursday, a federal labor official began meeting with representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association and
the Longshore and Warehouse Union. They are trying to settle the dispute.

This VOA Special English program In The News was written by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.

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1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

6 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

7 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。