By David Shepardson and Lisa Baertlein
(Reuters) -The Biden administration is urging the union and employers to negotiate in good faith and quickly reach a new contract deal ahead of a potential Tuesday strike at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, a White House official said on Friday.
The affected ports stretch from Maine to Texas and handle more than half of U.S. waterborne trade. A shutdown could cost the economy $5 billion daily, according to a JPMorgan analysis.
Talks between the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents 45,000 port workers, and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group appear deadlocked on wage issues ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to reach a new contract deal.
On Friday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, and top White House economic adviser Lael Brainard are meeting with USMX to convey directly “that they need to be at the table and negotiating in good faith fairly and quickly” after officials delivered a similar message this week to the ILA, a White House official said.
On Thursday, USMX took the unusual step of filing an unfair labor practice complaint against the union, saying its leaders refuse to resume talks ahead of the threatened strike.
Union leaders say their members will walk off the job at all 36 ports under the contract, the first such strike since 1977, if employers do not agree to significant wage increases.
Also on Friday, nearly 200 agriculture organizations urged the White House to address key U.S. agricultural supply chain issues in the face of the potential port strike.