Contract negotiations between unionized office clerical workers and shipping lines in Los Angeles-Long Beach have reached an impasse.

"The union declared an impasse last night and I agree, we are at an impasse," said Steve Berry, lead negotiator for the employers, on Wednesday morning.

On July 21 the two sides exchanged "best and last" offers and then recessed talks for three days in order to study the proposals.

When talks resumed Tuesday afternoon "we spent six hours and I offered several different alternatives," Berry said. "The union refused to budge an inch on anything."

Berry did not disclose details of all of the employers' offers, but said that employers withdrew an earlier proposal to give new employees health care through a health maintenance organization for the first 18 months of employment.

"We offered a fully paid HMO to new employees, but the union called that a two-tier contract, so we withdrew it," Berry said. "There was no movement in labor’s position on anything."

Representatives of the Office Clerical Unit of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 did not immediately return calls seeking comment, but KNX radio reported Wednesday morning that a strike could occur at any moment.

"We're going to get together with our group and we're going to determine when and where the pickets are going to go up," said John Fageaux, the union's lead negotiator, according to the report.

Longshore members of the ILWU have said they would honor pickets in the event of a strike by the clerical workers, which could effectively shut down the busiest U.S. import gateway.

The 650 full-time and 200 part-time office clerical workers who process shipping documentation have been working without a contract since their previous three-year contract expired on July 1. Union membership authorized a strike if necessary, and union leaders had given previous deadlines for a strike, but those deadlines came and went without any job actions.

Asked about the possibility of a strike, Berry said he’s not in control of the union’s actions, but said such an event would be a "tragedy."

"I hope in the face of a very, very generous offer the union will rethink its position and accept," Berry said.

Employers have offered a 14-percent wage increase over the next three years, which would increase the base wage to $40 an hour or more than $80,000 a year in the third year. The offer also includes fringe benefits totaling another $40,000 a year.

Berry said the union is asking for an additional $1.50 an hour on top of what the employers have offered.

Employers also want in the next round of negotiations three years from now to bargain as a single unit. At present, employers negotiate certain basic items that are common to all companies, such as wages, but they also negotiate 14 separate contracts. Berry said this process is "complicated and frustrating."