April 7 (Reuters) - A shortage of West Coast port workers has forced
the busiest U.S. ocean trade gateway to largely shut on Friday, after
months of strained labor negotiations between the union dock workers
and their employers.

A substantial number of ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach workers,
including operators needed to load and unload cargo, failed to show
up on the job starting Thursday evening, according to the Pacific
Maritime Association (PMA), which represents employers.

The PMA said the missing workers were a result of a coordinated
action by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to
withhold labor as contract talks drag on.

"The action by the union has effectively shut down the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach," the PMA said in a statement.

Instead, the ILWU said the slowdown was due to thousands of union
workers attending a monthly membership meeting on Thursday evening
and observing the Good Friday holiday the following day.

"Cargo operations are ongoing as longshore workers at the ports
remain on the job," ILWU Local 13, which represents union members at
both the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, said in a statement.

Operators at the Port of Long Beach decided to temporarily close four
of the seaport''s six terminals when workers did not show up on Friday
morning, port spokesman Lee Peterson said, adding that regular
operations at the seaport were expected to resume on Saturday.

Port of Los Angeles officials were communicating with the ILWU and
PMA, along with federal, state and local officials, to "support a
return to normal operations," said the group, which is managed by a
unit of the City of Los Angeles.

Union workers at the ports have been on the job without an employment
contract since the previous agreement expired on July 1, 2022, and
the labor dispute has forced major retailers to shift cargo to East
and Gulf Coast ports to avoid disruptions.

The ILWU and PMA have recently said they reached a tentative
agreement on key negotiation sticking points and were committed to
resolving the contract matter expeditiously as the administration of
President Joe Biden continued to meet with the groups to help
facilitate a deal.