Evergreen America Corp. has urged the leadership of the International Longshoremen's Association to halt a 19-day-old strike by port captains that has halted the line's activities along the East Coast.

Longshoremen employed by stevedores and terminal operators have refused to cross picket lines that the ILA posted in support of the Evergreen port captains who are seeking to unionize. The port captains, based at Evergreen's Morristown, N.J. headquarters voted 3-2 last year for ILA representation. Evergreen has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reverse a National Labor Relations Board order to bargain with the union. The company contends the port captains are managers who are ineligible for unionization,

In a separate case, the ILA's Ridgefield Park, N.J., Local 1964, has asked the NLRB headquarters in Washington to overturn last year's 61-52 vote against unionization by Evergreen America's office workers. Local 1964 claims the election was tainted by company coercion of employees.

The local, whose members primarily represent workers in warehouse, grocery and fast-food businesses, has been picketing on behalf of the port captains. In a statement Monday, Evergreen America said, "It is suspect that a local that lost its fight against Evergreen America last year has the power to tie up Evergreen Marine's vessels today.

"We are frankly surprised that the ILA leadership, which is known for its commitment to labor peace, is allowing this to take place - particularly in light of the clear harm this is causing throughout the economy," Evergreen added. "Until the NLRB decision is handed down or until ILA leadership steps in and brings about an end to this illegal action, this is a problem that we are powerless to fix."

Evergreen said it "will abide by the decisions of the NLRB and the federal courts but will not give up its right, as an American company, to due process, to challenge a decision it believes to be legally and factually incorrect." The carrier has asked the NLRB to declare the ILA's actions an illegal secondary boycott. The NLRB is investigating Evergreen's claim, and Evergreen said it expects a ruling within the next few days.

The ILA also is trying to organize other carriers' port captains on the East Coast, and Evergreen said other carriers and agents are vulnerable to similar actions by the union. "Our company is only the first target of these unlawful actions," Evergreen said.

The ILA's action against Evergreen is the most far-reaching work stoppage by the union since the early 1980s. Evergreen has declared force majeure, which frees the company for liability for unavoidable events, for ships it has been unable to discharge at U.S. ports. Several vessels have been diverted to other ports, including Halifax, Canada, and Evergreen's Panama Canal hub. Evergreen said it is "working round-the-clock trying to resolve customer problems and keep in touch with importers and shippers."

By Joseph Bonney