News / Worker no-shows force US west coast port terminal shutdowns

Just when it seemed that US west coast labour contract negotiations were advancing toward settlement, dockworker absences on Friday forced several terminals to halt operations and impacted cargo flows at other facilities.

The action affected terminals at Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the ports of Oakland, Hueneme and Seattle.

Oakland’s two international terminals shut down, as did the Matson terminal, which handles predominantly domestic freight, because there were not enough workers to handle containers. The port authority said it ...