Courts Order West Coast Ports to Open

West Coast ports which have suffered a work stoppage for over a week, are set to reopen today. Yesterday afternoon, a federal judge issued an injunction to force the ports to reopen. President Bush asked for an 80-day cooling off period in order to attempt to clear the backlog from more than 200 ships loaded with cargo that have been unable to offload shipping containers or take on new cargo. The port closures are "hurting truckers, rail operators ... it's hurting farmers, ranchers and manufacturers and retailers and consumers," President George W. Bush said earlier Tuesday in announcing he would seek the re-opening of the ports under the Taft-Hartley Act, last imposed during a coal mine strike in 1978. Twenty-nine ports from San Diego to Seattle closed September 27 in a labor dispute with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.