Crippling strike at L.A. ports ends; deal reached

Shuttering 10 of the ports‘ 14 terminals kept about $760 million a day in cargo from being delivered, according to port officials. The cargo stacked up on the docks and in adjacent rail yards or, in many cases, remained on arriving ships. Some of those ships were diverted to other ports along the West Coast.

After the deal was reached, the ports‘ management said they were “delighted that the terminals will be operating again, that the cargo will be flowing.”

The clerks handle such tasks as filing invoices and billing notices, arranging dock visits by customs inspectors, and ensuring that cargo moves off the dock quickly and gets where it’s supposed to go. The $1 billion a day in cargo that moves through the busy port terminals is loaded on trucks and trains that take it to warehouses and distribution centers across the country.

Mr. Villaraigosa, who had been calling for the two sides to reach a deal for days, said he was pleased by the resolution.

“I think it’s appropriate to say, ‘Mission accomplished,’” he said.

AP writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.

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