News In Brief

4 East Coast cities hit by dock strikes

Nearly 6,500 longshoremen went on strike today in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Wilmington, Del., after rejecting local versions of a proposed three-year contract. Shippers predicted that a long strike would have a devastating effect on business in the ports. Boston and Baltimore were shut down. Longshoremen in Wilmington and Philadelphia were unloading only perishable goods.