Local 63 Ready to Strike - Impasse?

Well, given the feelings and statements in the "Breeze is Sinking" post, and given the completely vague coverage that's been done nearly everywhere about this story, I'm not going to place bets on anything related to the Local 63 Marine Clerks contract negotiations, but the Breeze has an update indicating that the Clerks are ready to strike.

From the article

“Talks are over. … We’ve gone as far as we could go and done everything we could do,” Fageaux said in comments to the radio station. “The next step is we’re going to get together with our group and determine when and where picket signs are going to go up.” - John Fageaux Jr., president of the Local 63 Office Clerical Unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union

UPDATE - Apparently they're talking again, according to the LA Times.

FURTHER UPDATE - Both the Times and the Breeze are reporting that an agreement has been reached that will prevent a strike. Local 63 Members will vote on the deal next week. The new contract features a 7% raise over three years and a $3.4 million trust fund for employees health care and pension plans.

Possible Strike at the Port?

I'm out of town right now, but I just caught this item in the Daily Breeze. Anybody have the on the ground scoop on the state of negotiations? I hadn't heard mention of the clerks contract before I left town, and none of my ILWU buddies mentioned it, so it comes to me as a bit of a surprise.

RIDE-Arc in the Harbor

I know there's at least a few cyclists who read this thing, so I'm putting this out there. RIDE-Arc is an awesome nighttime bike ride put on by some ex-Sci-Arc guys. They do nighttime explorations of neighborhoods in Los Angeles that touch on history, place and culture. This Friday night there's a 15-20 mile ride through the Port of Long Beach that they've organized - for those of us who don't work on the docks, a real opportunity to get out and see what goes on down there.

This ride is asking for a $2 donation to offset costs associated with the special location. Dress warm, in layers, and make sure your bike is in reliable condition, with a headlight (you should have a tail light too, they're life savers!) - I always pack an extra tube, a patch kit, pump and levers - just in case. Bring your driver's license - you may have to provide ID to get in to certain parts of the ride. I was on the October ride which also went into some normally off-limits areas - it was totally worth it.

Here's the location and time of the ride -

THE MEETING PLACE FOR THIS RIDE IS AT
THE PORT OF LONG BEACH ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS, 8:00 PM -
SPECIFICALLY THE MOSAIC-MURAL + FOUNTAIN area.
WE WILL RIDE PROMPTLY AT 9:00 PM. (trying to catch up to us in the
port area is not recommended for your own safety)
WE ARE STARTING EARLIER TO ENSURE THAT BLUE-LINE RIDERS CAN MAKE THE
LAST TRAIN HEADED TO DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.

Map: http://tinyurl.com/2wd9aa
The map points at 790 Harbor Plaza, where as the official address of
the Port of Long Beach is 925 Harbor Plaza... for the purposes of
visual mapping, the street number has been adjusted.

I'll probably be biking to the start point from my house, down Harbor to Anaheim, to Long Beach - anyone who can ride fast and doesn't mind riding at night in harbor traffic, feel free to contact me if you wanna come along.

Ride Update!!!- They've moved the start of the ride to 8:30. I'm tying to get any Pedro riders to gather at Sacred Grounds before 7 PM (there may be some slower riders joining up), with us leaving at 7 to get there in advance of 8:30 so that we can all sign waviers. Bring an extra tube for your bike, have a working headlight, wear a helmet if you wanna keep up your head crackin' lifestyle. You must have ID for this ride, as well.

I'll have a frame pump and levers with me, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't bring your own.

Note - the ride to and from the Ride-Arc site adds a total of 20 additional miles to your evening, for a total ride of 35-40 miles. You should have your own water/hydration on you.

Here's a Gmaps route to the site from Sacred Grounds on 6th.