New York area ports shut down after dock workers walk out

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

New York and New Jersey's cargo terminals shut down on Friday after more than a thousand longshoremen walked off the job, shuttering one of the country's busiest port networks.

The employees stopped working around 11 a.m. (1600 GMT). It was not immediately clear what had prompted the walkout.

"To run a picket you need a permit and there wasn't one issued by the Port Authority," said one Port Authority official who requested anonymity.

The walkout came as a surprise because "there were no major issues that we knew of to precipitate this," the official said, adding that more than a thousand people walked out.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ports-idUSKCN0V72BJ

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World | Fri Jan 29, 2016 2:47pm EST
NEW YORK | BY JOSEPH AX AND DANIEL BASES

[valerief]

1. Dubai has to issue a picket permit? nt

[Eugene]

2. Operations being restored at New York-area ports after shutdown

Source: Reuters

World | Fri Jan 29, 2016 8:32pm EST

Operations being restored at New York-area ports after shutdown

NEW YORK | BY JOSEPH AX AND DANIEL BASES

Operations at New York and New Jersey's cargo terminals were being restored on Friday night after more than a thousand longshoremen walked off the job earlier in the day, shuttering one of the United State's busiest port networks, officials said.

Employees stopped working around 11 a.m. (1600 GMT), though the precise reason was unclear. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the terminals and leases them to port operators, said some nine hours later that operations were being restored and gates would open as scheduled on Monday.

The work stoppage came as a surprise because "there were no major issues that we knew of to precipitate this," according to a Port Authority official who requested anonymity.

The Port Authority and the International Longshoremen's Association urged workers to immediately return to work.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ports-idUSKCN0V72BJ