Combative contract negotiations between longshoremen and management have led to a slowdown at 29 ports on the West Coast, with shipping containers taking up to nine times as long as normal to unload. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, among other luminaries, has joined the negotiations, but there has been no resolution to the impasse. Most of the commentary about the port problems has focused on the economic cost: $1.9 billion a day, according to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.