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The Port of Portland and other West Coast ports will be affected whatever contract agreement eventually is reached by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

Weyerhauser is laying off employees at one of its Longview, Wash., facilities, blaming longshore union slowdowns at ports in Tacoma and Seattle.

The Washington-based timber company wouldn't disclose how many employees will be laid off, but spokesman Anthony Chavez said 535 people work in the affected facility.

Weyerhauser is temporarily closing the mill at the liquid packaging facility, which creates the cartons that hold milk or juice. Much of the liquid packaging board is shipped to Asia.

Chavez said that the large volume of paper products they export from that division hurt it more than others by the contentious contract negotiations between the longshore union and port operators. He declined to say whether there are further layoffs coming at any of the three other facilities at the 700-acre Longview complex.

He also declined to say how long the layoffs will last, but said they are temporary. Once the mills are running again, the employees will be back at work.

"We're just hoping that both parties can reach a speedy resolution," Chavez said."

The 20,000-member International Longshore & Warehouse Union has been negotiating since May a new contract with the Pacific Maritime Association, comprised of 29 West Coast port operators, including the Port of Portland. The previous six-year contract expired on July 1.

The port operators called for a federal mediator to intervene in the negotiations in December, revealing that the ILWU members and the Pacific Maritime Association differ in how close they are to agreeing on terms.

The union's president said they are nearing a resolution, but the port operators disagree.

The main point of contention is congestion. ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees said the congestion is caused by an influx of containers on the docks that need to be moved and a lack of resources to move them, which makes dock work dangerous. Port operators, retailers and other industry groups blame the congestion on intentional worker slowdowns -- which union officials deny.

For more context on the latest negotiation moves, here is recommended reading:

-- Molly Harbarger