By Nick Lung         Photo：Justus Menke

Container terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach reopened on Friday night after a 24-hour shutdown, but contract talks have still not yielded a breakthrough.

Hopes for a resolution to the impasse in talks between the International Terminals and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Organization (PMA) faded further, suggesting supply chain concerns from major U.S. ports will continue.

Work came to a standstill when the evening shift began on Thursday as a shortage of dockworkers reported for duty. The paralysis continued on Friday as not enough workers arrived by the start of the morning shift. Four of the six container terminals in Long Beach are closed, while in Los Angeles, all seven facilities are closed.

The PMA accused the union of cutting the workforce in a move to "close the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach." The union disputed that claim, saying thousands of its members attended its monthly general meeting on Thursday to witness the swearing-in of incoming president Gary Herrera. Turnout was low on Friday morning because workers were celebrating the Good Friday holiday, it added.

"While unions have used new tactics, the result has been the same: disrupted terminal operations," the PMA said. Shippers are concerned about possible knock-on effects of slowdowns at two major U.S. maritime hubs. The union has unilaterally delayed standard operating procedures jointly administered by the PMA and ILWU and refused to allow PMA to participate in labor dispatches, actions that have slowed operations at ports throughout Southern California. In addition, the PMA said unions had forced critical cargo-handling equipment at several key terminals to cease operations.

The PMA has warned that further slowdowns could damage employment in the long term. Inflicting further damage to an already weak U.S. economy.

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