FRESNO (KMJ) — Sea ports along the west coast are now closed over the holiday weekend. The operators say workers simply aren't working enough to justify the holiday pay.
It's all part of a labor dispute between shipping companies and longshoremen.
But stuck between the disagreement are the imports not being brought in – and the exports not being shipped out.
"The pipeline for our beer is going to dry up if we can't get the beer to Europe", says John Dannerbeck from San Francisco based Anchor Brewing. "We have to find an alternative. The question is – is that a permanent alternative to the West Coast ports?".
Valley goods are also affected. State assemblyman for Fresno Jim Patterson – says the situation is very serious:
"Our Ag folks are having to send on rail their perishable commodities. That just blows the price up for them. That price limits supply to us and drives the cost up".
Economists say the West Coast ports account for more than a tenth of the country's gross domestic product.
