War protests halt West Coast port traffic

updated 2:40 p.m. ET May 1, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Terminal operators say West Coast cargo traffic has come to a halt as port workers stage daylong anti-war protests.

Pacific Maritime Association spokesman Steve Getzug says thousands of dockworkers did not show up to work Thursday morning, leaving ships and truck drivers idle at ports from Long Beach to Seattle.

The West Coast ports are the nation’s principal gateway for cargo container traffic from the Far East.

A spokesman for the National Retail Federation says shippers and exporters planned for the slowdown that coincides with May Day and expected no significant long-term disruptions.

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