Statement About the West Coast Dock Strike

I AM acutely aware of the severe economic and human impact of the west coast longshoremen's strike and keenly disappointed at the continued failure of the parties to that dispute to resolve their differences through collective bargaining. While progress has been made over the past few weeks, the pace of that progress has been painfully slow and totally unacceptable.

We cannot tolerate a continuation of this pattern of delay and slow progress toward an ultimate settlement. The time is overdue for the parties involved to live up to their responsibilities to the American people and to work diligently--and urgently--toward that settlement.

I have asked J. Curtis Counts, Secretary Hodgson, and George Shultz to meet with chief negotiators in Portland today to discuss how the parties can best be brought to recognize and meet their responsibilities. This strike has gone on too long already. I expect the parties to make a renewed and determined effort to see that it is ended and ended quickly.