Lisa Baertlein and David Shepardson of Reuters report that Biden won’t block potential strikes that could cripple major US ports. They write:
U.S. President Joe Biden does not intend to invoke a federal law to prevent a port strike on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico if dockworkers fail to secure a new labor contract by an Oct. 1 deadline, an administration official said on Tuesday.
The International Longshoremen’s Association, negotiating on behalf of workers at three dozen U.S. ports from Maine to Texas that handle about half of the nation’s ocean imports, warned again on Tuesday that its members are prepared to stop work in two weeks. […]
Last summer, Biden dispatched Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to help negotiate a crucial contract deal between U.S. West Coast seaport employers and their union workers, following labor disruptions at some busy California port terminals.
Both sides had agreed to keep talking after their July 1, 2022, deadline because the COVID pandemic cargo boom was jamming up critical supply chains and stoking inflation.
Their June 2023 deal secured a 32% pay increase for workers and was expected to be a template for labor talks on the East and Gulf coasts.
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