Biden’s Labor chief visits California to break deadlock in West Coast port talks
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su is in California for talks with West Coast port employers and the dockworkers union in an effort to break an impasse in a long-running contract negotiation.
Su is encouraging ocean carriers and terminal operators, represented by the Pacific Maritime Assn., and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union “to stay at the table and reach an agreement,” said Julie McClain Downey, assistant Labor secretary for public affairs. She did not elaborate on the status of the talks.
Ports up and down the West Coast have faced labor-related disruptions as contract talks have dragged on, resulting in delays and ocean shippers moving cargo to the East and Gulf coasts. The prospect of a work stoppage could pose fresh supply chain headaches for President Biden and the U.S. economy.
Su has previously been engaged in the talks, but her decision to travel to California to meet personally with the two sides represents an escalation in the administration’s involvement in the negotiations, which have lasted more than a year.
Business groups have urged the Biden administration to directly intervene to break the stalemate, but the president and his team have been loath to impose an agreement and have instead said they prefer to let the collective bargaining process continue.
Southern California dockworkers disrupted the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports Friday after contract talks deteriorated in recent days.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week in a letter to Biden warned that a “serious work stoppage” at West Coast ports could cost the U.S. economy $1 billion per day and urged the president to appoint an “independent mediator” to help the parties reach a deal.
Disruptions in the last six days at Los Angeles have been minimal and “given the circumstances, cargo is flowing pretty well,” said Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka, who is not involved in the contract negotiations.
“There’s really no comparison at this point” to the issues that seized port operations during contract negotiations in 2014 and 2015, Seroka told reporters Tuesday, urging both sides to reach an agreement soon.
Su, who faces a tough confirmation fight in the Senate to become Biden’s permanent Labor secretary, is from California and led the state’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency before joining the administration in 2021. She has relationships with labor and management representatives at the ports.
The Retail Industry Leaders Assn. said it was “encouraged” to see Su “directly engaged with negotiating parties at our nation’s West Coast ports.”
Retailers and manufacturers have shifted cargo away from the L.A. and Long Beach ports, threatening local jobs. The ports vow to bring that trade back, but it won’t be easy.
“We urge Acting Labor Secretary Su to stay engaged until a resolution is reached that ensures the uninterrupted flow of goods and restores confidence in the West Coast ports as a reliable gateway for global commerce,” the group said in a statement.
