Here’s the latest update on Big Labor’s long-planned manufactured chaos at our West Coast ports. The two sides are headed toward federal mediation after 8 days of ILWU-sponsored havoc on the economy:

Both sides in the strike that has crippled the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have agreed to federal mediation, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday at a news conference.

Villaraigosa said the agreement was an encouraging sign and could help bring an end to the strike, now in its eighth day. He said the parties negotiated throughout the night and there had been some recent movement.

“I’m hopeful that the mediator will be here today,” Villaraigosa told reporters. “We’ve got to get a deal and get a deal as soon as possible.”

Workers belonging to the 800-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Unit have been on strike since Nov. 27 against a 14-employer group of shipping lines and terminal owners. The picket lines are being honored by the 10,000 regional members of the ILWU. Add in local truckers, and some 20,000 workers are affected, Villaraigosa estimated.

The strike has shut down 10 of the 14 cargo container terminals at the nation’s busiest seaport complex. The clerical workers had been without a contract since June 30, 2010.

The shutdown is costing 每天1亿美元 in lost wages and trade while empty ships pile up. The striking union clerk workers rejected a deal that would guarantee their jobs and “bring the average annual OCU wage-and-benefits package to more than $190,000 over the next three and one-half years.”

But as you know full well, it’s not about workers. It’s about anarchy, agitation, and protecting entrenched Big Labor power.

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以前：

港口罢工更新：SoCal停滞不前，托运人搬到墨西哥，零售商向奥巴马求援

11/29/12 港口罢工观察：ILWU的停工遍布洛杉矶和长滩

11/19/12 更大的由劳工引发的痛苦：迫在眉睫的港口罢工

9/17/12 港口罢工更新：谈判恢复，占领根源于混乱

12/12/11 D12指南：占领者返回港口以西海岸停车； 更新：明天再回来； ILWU官方乌鸦“劳工运动的重生”

11/2/11 从占领奥克兰居住：粉碎窗户，破坏公物等； 包机到港口，团队成员在房子里； 港口关闭，卡车超车； 更新：太平洋时间午夜时分催泪瓦斯，防暴警察，火灾，鞭炮

9/8/11 工会暴徒警报：华盛顿州朗维尤（Longview）的愤怒之日开始得很早； 更新–添加了视频； 剪断刹车线，砸碎窗户，丢下谷物，劫持人质； 更新：传播到塔科马，西雅图