Bush to seek order to reopen ports Panel says poisoned labor relations make pact unlikely, setting stage for federal intervention.
October 8, 2002: 3:14 PM EDT
By Chris Isidore, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Bush administration is set to seek a court order Tuesday afternoon to reopen West Coast ports after a federal panel looking at an ongoing labor dispute said federal intervention is needed to break the impasse.
The lockout of 10,500 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union essentially has choked U.S.-Asian trade since Sept. 27 and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage a day to the U.S. economy.
A three-member panel appointed by Bush Monday set the stage for the president to go to court and seek an order to reopen the ports for an 80-day cooling-off period.
"We believe that the seeds of distrust have been widely sown, poisoning the atmosphere of mutual trust and respect which could enable a resolution of seemingly intractable issues," the report to Bush Tuesday said. "We have no confidence that the parties will resolve the West Coast ports dispute within a reasonable time."
Bush is set to comment on the dispute at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) Tuesday to announce his decision, but senior administration officials tell CNN that he will do as expected and seek a court order to reopen the 29 West Coast ports.
Retailers, manufacturers, and agricultural and other food producers have been particularly hard hit by the shutdown. The lockout came during the peak season for shipping consumer goods for the holiday shopping season. It also is disrupting the flow of parts needed for assembly lines. And millions of dollars of fruits and vegetables are rotting while waiting to be shipped.
