The federal agency responsible for mediating labor disputes announced late Monday that its staffers will intervene and attempt to resolve the building labor dispute between dock workers and the Pacific Maritime Association, which operates 29 ports along the West Coast.

“In response to a joint request for assistance from the parties, collective bargaining between (the dockworkers union) and PMA representatives will continue as soon as possible under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service,” agency acting director Allison Beck said in a statement. “We are prepared and ready to render prompt assistance.”

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service was created in 1947 and was called upon to mediate the 2002 impasse that resulted in a 10-day lockout at West Coast ports.

The agency’s deputy director, Scot Beckenbaugh, has been placed in charge of the forthcoming mediation effort. The agency does not release meeting schedules.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association were set to resume talks Monday in an effort to sign a new contract that would cover 20,000 West Coast dockworkers. The previous contract expired in July.

Both sides, which have been in talks since May, have been mum about the specifics of those talks, including what has stalled negotiations. PMA cited wages, pensions, jurisdiction and work rules as issues that remained unresolved, while ILWU has mentioned safety training as a key issue.

Tensions escalated Friday when the union organized a rally in Wilmington to denounce the PMA’s move to lower the number of workers ordered to unload cargo ships at night, which affected about 800 jobs. Reps. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, and Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, were among those who have criticized PMA, which represents 29 ports along the West Coast.

“The unilateral steps taken by the PMA over the weekend to eliminate up to two-thirds of the night time labor at the LA/LB ports will increase congestion and eliminate work for hundreds of dock workers who have to support their families,” Lowenthal said Monday.

Hahn, who attended Friday’s rally, on Monday called the move “unacceptable.”

The PMA said it has had to reduce night shift hours to slow the number of containers filling the yards due to the congestion.

“It makes no sense to maintain the pace of removing containers from ships when there’s no room for them on the terminals,” said Wade Gates, spokesman for the PMA. “If a parking lot were full, you would clear out empty spaces before bringing in more cars. The same rule applies here.”

Labor talks are being watched closely; the local, regional and national economy would lose about $1 billion a day if a work stoppage were to occur.

In the beginning, contract talks seemed to move forward, with the announcement of a tentative agreement on health benefits, and promises by both sides that business would not be disrupted while talks were ongoing.

But talks have intensified between both sides late last year, with one accusing the other of stalling talks and creating work slowdowns at the ports.

PMA has called for federal mediation and an extension to the previous contract while the ILWU has asked for PMA’s Board of Directors to come to the table.

Meanwhile, congestion — already caused by the lack of available chassis and the arrival of bigger ships bringing in more cargo and worsened by unresolved contract talks — has resulted in ships at sea waiting to be unloaded, yards crowded with containers, long lines of trucks and weeks-long shipment delays that have customers rerouting goods away from West Coast ports.

On Monday, nine container ships were waiting to be berthed at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s busiest seaport handling 40 percent of U.S. imports, are the primary economic engine for the region accounting for thousands of jobs in Southern California, including warehouse workers in the Inland Empire.

“The longer that the ILWU and PMA continue to be engaged in protracted contract negotiations, the more damage will be inflicted on our national and local economies,” said Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino in a statement. “I have many family and friends on both sides of the issue and urge each to be fair and come to an agreement as quickly as possible.”

Contact Karen Robes Meeks at 562-714-2088.