White House urges union, employers to negotiate new port contract By Reuters

(Reuters) – The Biden administration is urging the union and employers to negotiate honestly and quickly reach an agreement on a new contract ahead of a possible strike at the docks on Tuesday, a White House official said.

Negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which represents 45,000 longshoremen, and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group appear deadlocked on wage issues ahead of a September 30 deadline to reach a new contract agreement.

On Friday, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, and senior White House economic adviser Lael Brainard met with the USMX to express directly “that they need to be at the table and negotiate honestly and quickly” after submitting it. this week in ILA.