The Daily Alaska empire., 1948-09-02
WALk0UT
 COMPLETE
 ON COAST
Hundreds of Ships ldled as Longshoremen Leave
 Their Jobs

:; SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 2.--tR-- Pacific Coast ports were idled to- day as CIO longshoremen quit work and prepared with allied unions for strike.
 Tickets patrolled the waterfronts beginning at l0:30 a. m. docal time today. Harry Bridges, pres- ident of the International Long shoremen's and Warehousemen's 1 Union. predicted the strike would last three months. Contract negotiations chiefly con- cerned with wages and the hiring hall collapsed last night. The strike will affect about l6,000 longshoremen and seafarers. About 500 ships are involved. The walkout affects 2,50o Puget Sound longshoremen. The action idles g ships in Seattle and oth- ; CTS at Everett, Bellingham. Aber- deen, Olympia, Raymond, Port Gamble and Port Townsend. Longshoremen at Tacoma. Ana- cortes and Port Angeles are unaf- fected since they are affiliated with the AFL.
 Nation To Feel Tieup The tieup from Seattle to San Diego will be felt across the na- tion
 Railroads had ordered an em- rargo on most freight destined for the coast ports. Military freight 1; will 5e shipped. The longshore walkout was called !, ed for 10 a. m. meetings to hear reports on the failure of negotia- i tions which had begun last spring. Union spokesmen said the strike would become official at 10:30 a. m. because at that time an &C., day Federal Court injunction for- bidding strike was expected to be dissolved. It halted a threatened strike 80 days ago.
 Others To Walk0ut
 CIO Marine Cooks and Stewards, CIO Marine Engineers. Independent Marine Bremen ad Marine Radio Operators are expected to follow the longshoremen out The un- ions had agreed not to sign a con- tract unless all did. The radio op- orators are also involved in juris- dictional dispute between the AFL Marine Radio Officers Union and the CIO American Radio Associa- tion
 Loaded ships sailed abruptly yes- terday to beat the strike deadline. Twenty-Five left San Francisco. leaving that many more partly loaded vessels alongside the docks.
 Bridges Statement
 After the negotiations collapse. Bridges said:
 The employers handed us contract and said: Take it or leave it. We wanted to go on and negotiate, but they walked out on us.,
 The length of strike? With these characteristics 1t will take three months to get wound up.'
 An employer spokesman said: "The ILWU walked out of the meeting. They announced they were on strike as of lO:3O a. m. Thursday The union negotiators flatly rejected proposals, practical ly all of them
 Employers had offered to leave the disputed question of whether a union employee or an impartial dispatcher shall run the hiring hall up to the Supreme Court. The present union dispatcher mean while would continue.
 Wage Issue Unsettled
 But last night Bridges said: We cannot accept hiring hall clause with strings on it."
 He said another major unsettled issue was wages. Employers offer ed hourly hikes oi 10 cents and lo cents Tor overtime. The un- ion asked IS cents straight and 22ls cents overtime.
 No provision was made by long, shoremen to handle shipments of military cargo.
 Bridges said: "Only the dead will be worked He referred to funeral ships bringing home war dead.
 We offered to set up conn., mittee to work perishables but em- ployers wouldn't have any" he added
 The Pacific American Shipown- CTS said the strike would threat en the economy of Alaska and Hawaii and would seriously hamper