Union talks at West Coast ports going well, U.S. labor secretary says
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Talks to achieve a brand new contract with union employees at West Coast delivery ports earlier than the prevailing deal expires this week are going properly with no main sticking factors, U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh informed Reuters on Tuesday.
The present contract overlaying greater than 22,000 port laborers at 29 West Coast ports expires on July 1. Retailers, farmers and different U.S. shippers fear that any breakdown within the often-contentious West Coast port labor talks will additional disrupt cargo flows and ship inflation-fueling transportation prices even increased.
Walsh mentioned he checks in weekly with the Worldwide Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Affiliation (PMA) employer group. They “regularly inform me that we’re in place. It is transferring ahead,” Walsh mentioned.
In a uncommon joint assertion on June 14, the ILWU and the PMA mentioned they don’t seem to be planning any work stoppages or lockouts that may worsen provide chain logjams.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden met with the 2 sides as he grapples with supply-chain disruption and inflation which can be fueling voter discontent forward of key mid-term elections in November.
Requested if port automation is a sticking level within the talks, Walsh mentioned: “There’s been no points that I am conscious of which have come up which have made both facet involved.”
In the meantime, cautious shippers are routing cargo away from the West Coast to keep away from potential labor-related slowdowns, significantly on the nation’s busiest seaport advanced at Los Angeles/Lengthy Seashore.
That change is giving these Southern California ports, which make use of the lion’s share of ILWU employees, an opportunity to clear backlogs. However it’s also inflicting cargo backups at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports like New York/New Jersey, Savannah and Houston.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Modifying by Lisa Shumaker)
