Wooo hoo!!!!!

[url=www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25696-2002Oct1.html]Port Shutdown May Cause Empty Shelves [/url]

WASHINGTON –– A prolonged shutdown of West Coast ports could lead to empty store shelves, quiet factories and a global economic crisis, analysts say.

"The collateral damage is huge," said Stephen Cohen, a regional planning professor at the University of California at Berkeley. "We've never had anything like this. This affects the entire economy."

Millions of dollars in cargo sat idle for a second day at the 29 major Pacific ports. West Coast shipping lines said they will keep the ports closed until the longshoremen agree to extend their expired contract. But the 10,500-member union said it will not budge until the lockout is ended.

A stalemate could be disastrous for the U.S. economy, which already is teetering between recovery and recession. The cost has been pegged at $1 billion a day.

"It's just massive," said John Martin, president of Martin Associates, a Lancaster, Pa., economic consulting firm.

The problems could snowball quickly, according to his study conducted for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and sea terminal operators. [b]A 10-day shutdown could cost the country $19.4 billion.[/b]

The Chinese will never let this happen.

It would be well within their rights to use military force abroad to protect their interests.

bring it on!

If it were me I would fire them all and hire non-union workers.

... If it were me I would fire them all and hire [s]non-union[/s] [i]unemployed folks that are willing to work[/i][s]ers[/s].

[b]ABSOLUTELY !!![/B]

That is exactly what I meant. They could probably even lower the pay from the negotiated union wage and it still be a good paying job.

Maybe for once people will be forced to buy American!

I use to haul ocean going containers to the docks in Oakland. The longshoreman for holiday pay back in 94 was $1000.00 for one day/about 5hours "work".