Employers appeal to dockworkers in West Coast port fight

Loaded container trucks line-up at a gate at the Port of Seattle Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in Seattle. Seaports in the U.S. West Coast that were all but shut over the weekend because of a contract dispute are reopening as the nation's top labor official tries to solve a stalemate between dockworkers and their employers that already has disrupted billions of dollars in U.S. international trade. U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez plans to meet Tuesday in San Francisco with negotiators for both the dockworkers' union and the maritime association, which represents shipping lines that carry cargo and port terminal operators that handle it once the ships dock. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Loaded container trucks line-up at a gate at the Port of Seattle Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in Seattle. Seaports in the U.S. West Coast that were all but shut over the weekend because of a contract dispute are reopening as the nation's top labor official tries to solve a stalemate between dockworkers and their employers that already has disrupted billions of dollars in U.S. international trade. U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez plans to meet Tuesday in San Francisco with negotiators for both the dockworkers' union and the maritime association, which represents shipping lines that carry cargo and port terminal operators that handle it once the ships dock. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

By Associated Press February 19, 2015 3 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Cargo companies have gone straight to West Coast dockworkers with what they call their “last, best and final” offer in a contract crisis that has choked off billions of dollars in international trade.

In a move very likely to upset union leaders who were negotiating behind closed doors under a media blackout, the employers distributed letters with the contract offer to rank-and-file longshoremen at ports from Los Angeles to Washington state.

At a marine terminal in Tacoma, Washington, foremen handed dockworkers the letter from the president of the association that represents companies that own, load and unload massive ships.

It detailed a third, comprehensive contract offer employers made Feb. 12 – more recently than has been publicly disclosed.

Employers appear to hope union members will support the offer and then pressure their negotiators to accept it. The letter said the offer includes wage and pension increases and the maintenance of low-cost health benefits.