Longshoremen arrested in Whittier Alaska during protest against Carnival

Five longshoremen were arrested yesterday while trying to block a busload of passengers from embarking Carnival Spirit in Whittier, Alaska, in a protest over Carnival's use of lower-cost foreign onboard workers.

The precise nature of the dispute itself is hazy. Normally, unionized workers will unload luggage from vehicles curbside, and deliver it to the onboard cruise line employees for distribution throughout the ship. Carnival re-affirmed today its support for that arrangement. So where's the dispute?

Carnival said that its employees did move luggage outside the ship yesterday, but only because the longshoremen refused to do their usual work. Meanwhile the longshoremen suggest that Carnival was trying a new tactic in Whittier to replace the jobs normally done by union workers with its own cheaper labor. So, for the moment, who knows what's really at the crux of the matter.

KTUU: Longshoremen arrested in Whittier cruise ship protest