LOS ANGELES (AP) – The nation’s top labor official is bringing a clear message to dockworkers and their employers whose contract dispute has crippled international trade through the West Coast’s seaports: Reach a deal, and fast.
U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez held what his office characterized as “positive and productive meetings” Tuesday with both the dockworkers’ union and the maritime association representing companies that own, load and unload massive ocean-going ships laden with imports from Asia and U.S. exports.
It was his first full day in San Francisco, where both the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association are based. Perez renews his efforts Wednesday, with political and economic pressure rising to get a contract and free cargo bottlenecks at 29 ports that handle about $1 trillion of trade annually.
As contract talks have stalled, so too has the flow of trade. Dozens of ships are anchored off Southern California, and in San Francisco Bay and Washington’s Puget Sound. They’re waiting for dock space that -whether due to employer lockouts of workers or work slowdowns alleged by employers – is taking weeks to free up.
Perez does not have legal authority to force an agreement, but outsiders hope he can resolve differences that a federal mediator could not.