LONG BEACH, Calif. -- There were some small signs of compromise Monday in contract negotiations between shipping lines and unionized office clerical workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach, but a settlement was not yet in hand.

Both sides said they still hoped to avert a work stoppage at the largest U.S. port complex as a strike deadline at midnight Sunday came and went without incident.

Employers bumped up their proposed increase for wages and benefits to 14 percent from 13 percent over the next three years, said Steven Berry, lead negotiator for the 14 shipping lines and terminal operators. He said the Office Clerical Unit of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 was seeking a 40-percent increase in wages and a 60-percent increase in benefits.

John Fageaux, president of the OCU, said the union early Monday was finalizing its best offer that would reduce the proposed increase in wages and benefits.

"We're trying to avoid a strike," Fageaux said.

The office clerical workers process bills of lading, cargo bookings and other ocean shipping documents.

The current clerks' base wage is about $78,000 a year, and the employers' offer will increase that to $80,000 in the first year of the contract, Berry said.

The office clerical contract is different from that of the ILWU longshore division. The dock worker contract is set to expire on July 1, 2008. The ILWU dock workers have stated, however, that they will not cross picket lines erected by the OCU, so a strike by the office workers would effectively shut down the ports if the job action by dock workers were declared legal under their contract.