LOS ANGELES — Terminal operators submitted their orders for manpower Wednesday afternoon as they prepared to resume cargo-handling operations following the 10-day lock-out of dockworkers at West Coast ports.

Shippers, carriers and labor anticipate congestion and confusion as an estimated 200 vessels wait to unload up and down the coast, but note that a plan for recovery is in place.

Individual employers, as asked, submitted their requests for manpower by 2 p.m. PT Wednesday. Depending upon job classification, about 30 percent to 40 percent of the requests could be submitted directly to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union dispatch hall.

The majority of manpower requests required a more complex process in order to ensure that each terminal received a fair allotment of labor given the crush of cargo and availability of labor, said Pacific Maritime Association spokesman John Pachtner.

In most cases, individual terminals submitted their orders to the local PMA office. The PMA compared that list against the availability of longshore workers and notified terminals of how many workers each could expect for the 6 p.m. shift. The terminals then submitted their allocation to the ILWU dispatch hall.

Once at the dispatch hall, the manpower requests would be posted and ILWU members would choose or reject positions as they would do under normal circumstances, with the goal being to have all dispatches completed by the start of the shift.

In Los Angeles-Long Beach, the nation's busiest port complex, terminal operators anticipated that they would be able to operate three out of the normal five cranes per vessel.

While the internal communications among the PMA, individual employers and the ILWU appeared to be well-organized given the unusual circumstances, communication between terminal operators and the harbor trucking industry followed no master plan.

Each terminal and each of the hundreds of trucking companies was on its own as far as arranging for pick-ups and deliveries. For example, some terminals were prepared to open their gates to truckers at 6 p.m. Wednesday, while others said they needed all night to get their container yards in order and did not plan to open until the 8 a.m. shift Thursday. Truckers complained this approach would lead to chaos and long lines. Some told shippers they would only send drivers to the harbor if they were guaranteed paid waiting time of $25-40 an hour. Others were demanding congestion surcharges.

There was little confusion in the public relations battle that management and labor have waged since contract talks began May 13. The ILWU blasted employers and the Bush administration for seeking the Taft-Hartley injunction under which West Coast ports will operate for the next 80 days.

"The Taft-Hartley Act was passed in 1948 as an anti-union law. Its provisions for fines, contempt of court citations and prison sentences for those violating the terms of the contract are aimed at workers," the ILWU said in a release.

The union insisted that the PMA will still charge longshoremen with deliberate work slowdowns in spite of the traffic crush. "We fully expect PMA to use all the anti-union provisions of the Taft-Hartley injunction," said ILWU President James Spinosa. "PMA will start alleging 'slowdowns' by Thursday and will continue that," Spinosa said.

Pachtner said the PMA will not claim slowdowns if none are occurring. The goal of employers is to return the ports to normal as quickly and safely as possible, and to resume negotiations with the aim of reaching a new agreement, he said.

No date was immediately set for a resumption of contract negotiations, which will take place under the aegis of federal mediators.

Bill Mongelluzzo