West Coast seaports fully reopened Monday morning after two days during which no ships were unloaded amid a labor dispute between dockworkers and their employers.
The two sides are negotiating a new contract, and bargaining table tensions have spilled over to the waterfront, where cargo is moving far slower than normal through ports that handle about one-quarter of the nation's international trade.
Over the weekend, companies hired workers only to move from congested dockside yards cargo that already was unloaded. Employers said they needed to free space and wouldn't pay full crews they contend have been working slowly on purpose.
The dockworkers' union condemned the hiring cutbacks and said longshoremen stand ready to work.
Contract talks were scheduled to resume Monday afternoon in San Francisco.
