West Coast port employers on Wednesday rejected the latest contract offer from longshoremen, saying it repackaged proposals they had turned down at the start of negotiations.

The two sides did not meet on Thursday, and no progress is expected until after the long Labor Day holiday. The rejection by the Pacific Maritime Association of the 41-page revised proposal from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union revived the war of words that has flared off and on since talks began May 13.

The International Longshoremen's Association, which represents dock workers on the East and Gulf coasts, announced that it will hold a rally for the ILWU Friday at Port Newark, N.J. The ILA will be joined by representatives of the Teamsters union and an ILWU representative official from San Francisco.

Late last year, the ILWU, ILA and Teamsters signed a pact to work together to make U.S. ports 100 percent union. The unions said they will attempt to organize all workers, including harbor truck drivers.

Meanwhile, ILWU sympathizers have for the past two days distributed leaflets at some stores operated by members of the West Coast Waterfront Coalition. The coalition includes large retailers and other importers and exporters that ship through West Coast ports. The group has publicly called for both sides to remain at the bargaining table until a contract is reached. Because the coalition has said that major retailers expect the new contract to improve productivity and lower cargo handling costs at West Coast ports, the ILWU has charged that the group is openly supportive of the PMA.

Robin Lanier, executive director, said some stores operated by coalition members in Portland, Ore., Seattle-Tacoma, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were leafleted. The hand-outs demanded that the companies leave the West Coast Waterfront Coalition, and demanded that the Bush administration stay out of the West Coast negotiations.

The ILWU earlier charged that a Labor Department official said the administration would send in the military to operate West Coast ports in the event of a strike.

Since then, various local governments and agencies, including port commissions and city councils, have passed resolutions urging the White House to steer clear of the talks.

Lanier said that if these efforts are designed to scare retailers and importers into pressuring the PMA to accept a contract that does not improve waterfront productivity, the efforts are failing.

"This indicates to me that the union believes customers will somehow pressure the PMA to decide they don't need technology. That's not going to happen," she said.

Industry observers have puzzled at how long the negotiations have dragged on, and are concerned about the lack of progress. The two sides have met for a total of about three hours during the month of August. Also, the union appears to be implementing a strategy of returning with an even less acceptable proposal after a rejection by the PMA.

In previous contract negotiations in 1999 and 1996, longshoremen engaged in work slowdowns to pressure employers to accept the union's demands. This year, the two sides have agreed to extend the previous contract, which was set to expire on July 1, on a day-to-day basis. This has prevented work stoppages and slowdowns. After the Labor Day weekend, the ports will begin the two busiest months of the year as holiday season merchandise enters the U.S.

By Bill Mongelluzzo