Negotiator says contract talks with striking LA-Long Beach port clerks to restart Friday night

Talks to resume in California port clerk strike

LOS ANGELES — Negotiators for striking clerical workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are set to restart contract talks with shippers and terminal operators.

A negotiator for the employers said talks would resume Friday night. The president of the 900-member union could not be reached for comment.

Clerical workers represented by the International Longshore Warehouse Union local began picketing outside several terminals Thursday after their contract expired and negotiators reached an impasse.

The workers process critical paperwork for shipments at the nation’s busiest port complex. They are trying to protect their jobs from being outsourced in the next contract.

The Harbor Employees Association, which represents the shippers, says it offered the workers “significant job security guarantees.”