Biden Urging Both Sides in Port Dispute to Return to Negotiations

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged both sides in the labor dispute that shut down East Coast and Gulf Coast ports last night to get back to the table and restart negotiations “fairly and quickly.”

Just after midnight, members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, a union that represents roughly 45,000 workers, walked off the job after they failed to agree to a new collective bargaining contract with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port employers, before the Sept. 30 deadline.

The strike, which affects every container port on the East and Gulf Coasts, is the union’s first work stoppage in nearly 50 years.

Because it will block almost all cargo from coming through many of the nation’s busiest ports, including those in Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Baltimore, New Orleans, New York and New Jersey, it is estimated the strike will cost the U.S. economy something like $5 billion a day.

Those in the know when it comes to the port and supply industries have suggested a one-day strike will cause a five-day backlog of shipments, while a weeklong strike could lead to a monthlong backlog, just ahead of the crucial Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah shopping seasons.

Others fear the strike will also prevent communities, including in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, from receiving crucial relief supplies they need to start recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene this past weekend. 

In a statement, the White House said both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are closely monitoring potential supply chain impacts and assessing ways to address them.

At present, assessments from a number of federal agencies suggest the near-term impact of the strike on consumers will be limited, even when it comes to must-have items like food, fuel and medicine.

“The president has directed his Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to meet every day and prepare to address potential disruptions, if necessary. He has also directed his team to continue engaging extensively with labor, industry, state and local officials, ocean carriers, and rail and trucking companies,” the statement from the White House said.

On Monday, at the president’s direction, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard held a meeting with members of the United States Maritime Alliance board, urging them to resolve their differences with the dockworkers “in a way that accounts for the success of these companies in recent years and the invaluable contributions of ILA workers.” 

In addition, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, and Brainard have been in direct contact with both the Maritime Alliance and the union urging them, on the president’s behalf, to keep the negotiations moving forward.

The ongoing conversations build on discussions last week and earlier that the administration held not only with the two sides, but also many of their stakeholder customers, including retailers, grocers, manufacturers and agriculture.

“Senior White House and administration officials continue to work around the clock to get both sides to continue negotiating towards a resolution,” the White House said.

Despite these efforts, the administration is already under intense pressure to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which empowers the president to prevent strikes that affect national security.

As the nation recovered from World War II, labor strikes abounded. Believing labor unrest could destabilize the economy, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which empowered the president to secure a court injunction to prevent strikes that affected national security.

On Tuesday morning the National Retail Federation joined the National Association of Manufacturers and several members of Congress in calling on Biden to “use any and all available authority and tools — including use of the Taft-Hartley Act — to immediately restore operations at all impacted container ports, get the parties back to the negotiating table and ensure there are no further disruptions.”

“A disruption of this scale during this pivotal moment in our nation’s economic recovery will have devastating consequences for American workers, their families and local communities,” said Matthew Shay, National Retail Federation president and CEO, in a written statement.

“After more than two years of runaway inflationary pressures and in the midst of recovery from Hurricane Helene, this strike will result in further hardship for American families,” Shay said. 

“The administration must prioritize our economy — and the millions of Americans who depend on it for their livelihood and wellbeing — and intervene immediately to prevent further hardship and deeper economic consequences,” he continued, adding, “It is essential that the ILA and USMX [the Maritime Alliance] immediately resume negotiations with the intention of finalizing a new master contract without further disruptions and put an end to this stalemate.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, warned that “the longer this strike continues, the more American families and workers will be hurt. 

“It is imperative that the White House use its authority to push for a quick resolution and avoid deepening this crisis,” Cassidy said.

The White House has responded to these suggestions by saying “the president and vice president believe collective bargaining is the best way for both American workers and employers to come to a fair agreement.”

Biden later expanded on that response, explaining that he believes “collective bargaining is the best way for workers to get the pay and benefits they deserve.

“I have urged USMX, which represents a group of foreign-owned carriers, to come to the table and present a fair offer to the workers of the International Longshoremen’s Association that ensures they are paid appropriately in line with their invaluable contributions,” the president said. “Ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic and in some cases profits grew in excess of 800% compared to their profits prior to the pandemic. Executive compensation has grown in line with those profits and profits have been returned to shareholders at record rates. It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well.

“As our nation climbs out of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, dockworkers will play an essential role in getting communities the resources they need,” Biden continued.

“Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits. … It is time for USMX to negotiate a fair contract with the longshoremen that reflects the substantial contribution they’ve been making to our economic comeback,” the president said.

In a statement posted to its website about 12 hours before the strike began, the union charged that “the ocean carriers represented by [the Maritime Alliance] want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject.

“ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing,” the union said. 

“It’s disgraceful that most of these foreign-owned shipping companies are engaged in a ‘Make and Take’ operation: They want to make their billion-dollar profits at United States ports, and off the backs of American ILA longshore workers, and take those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates,” the union said, adding, “Meanwhile, ILA dedicated longshore workers continue to be crippled by inflation due to USMX’s unfair wage packages.“

A short time later, the United States Maritime Alliance released its own statement, saying, “In the last 24 hours, the USMX and ILA have traded counter offers related to wages. 

“The USMX increased our offer and has also requested an extension of the current master contract, now that both sides have moved off their previous positions,” the statement continued. “We are hopeful that this could allow us to fully resume collective bargaining around the other outstanding issues – in an effort to reach an agreement. 

“Our offer would increase wages by nearly 50%, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans, strengthen our health care options, and retain the current language around automation and semi-automation,” the Maritime Alliance said. 

Under the contract that expired on Monday, longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts earned a top rate of $39 an hour. The ILA wants a $5-an-hour raise in each of the six years of a new agreement, resulting in its members receiving a 77% raise over the life of the contract.

West Coast ports, including the nation’s two busiest, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, are unaffected by the strike.

Longshoremen at these facilities belong to a different union and agreed last year on a new contract that includes a significant increase in wages.

Cruise ship operations and military shipments will also be unaffected by the strike, even on the East and Gulf coasts.

The last time the dockworkers walked out at all East and Gulf Coast ports was in 1977, a work dispute that lasted more than six weeks.

That one ended with the employers giving the longshoremen a far bigger raise than originally proposed and larger contributions to union pension plans.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue