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

(Reuters) – The Biden administration is urging the union and employers to negotiate in good faith and quickly to reach a new contract deal ahead of a potential strike at ports on Tuesday, a White House official said.

Talks between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), 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 delivering it this week to the ILA.