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A potential dock workers strike looms over seaports on the East and Gulf Coasts as a work stoppage could begin Tuesday, although federal law gives the president the authority to intervene in such a labor dispute when it creates a national emergency.
The possible dock strike could begin after the International Longshoremen’s Association’s (ILA) contract with the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) expires at midnight on Monday. If that happened, a strike could disrupt operations at 36 East Coast and Gulf Coast Ports which collectively handle about half of the country’s marine imports, delaying shipments of a variety of goods that could cost the U.S. economy up to $5 billion a day, according to a J.P. Morgan analysis.
President Biden has signaled that he does not intend to intervene in a potential strike, and the White House released a statement urging both sides to continue negotiations and stressing that the administration is evaluating ways to respond to supply chain disruptions.
While he has no plans to intervene, Biden has been urged by the National Retail Federation and 177 trade groups representing retailers, manufacturers, farmers, automakers and truckers to facilitate negotiations and intervene to prevent disruptions. A law known as the Taft-Hartley Act would allow him to intervene in the labor dispute if he chooses to do so.
President Biden has said he does not intend to use his authority to intervene in a potential dockworker strike. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Getty Images)
BIDEN WILL NOT BLOCK POTENTIAL PORT STRIKES ON EAST AND GULF COAST
How does Taft-Hartley Dispute Intervention work?
Enacted in 1947 as an update to the National Labor Relations Act, the Taft-Hartley Act contained a series of updates and reforms to labor laws and dispute mechanisms, including a new provision for resolving labor disputes that create a national emergency .
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Taft-Hartley Act authorizes the president to intervene in a labor dispute after determining that there is “a threatened or actual strike or lockout”; the dispute concerns all or a substantial part of an industry engaged in “trade, tradetransportation, transmission or communication between different States or with foreign nations;” and the strike or lockout, if it occurred or continued, “would endanger the national health or security.”
WHICH PRODUCTS WOULD BE DISCONTINUED BY A PORT STRIKE?
36 seaports on the East and Gulf coasts could be hit by a dock workers’ strike. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
After making that decision, the president could appoint a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to look into the labor dispute and issue a written report. Upon receipt of the report, the President may direct the Attorney General to file a legal motion in a federal district court seeking to enjoin the strike or lockout.
When a federal court grants the injunction requested by the attorney general and the Justice Department on behalf of the president, the injunction triggers an 80-day “cooling off” period in which employees return to work while the two sides resume negotiations to “make every effort to adjust and resolve their differences.”
If an agreement is not reached within 60 days of the injunction, the BOI notifies the president of the employer’s latest offer and the positions of the two parties. The National Labor Relations Board will then conduct a secret ballot over 15 days to determine whether employees wish to accept the offer, with the results reported to the Department of Justice within five days of the ballot. If the employees accept the offer, the dispute is resolved, while if they reject the offer, the two parties can continue negotiations.
The impending dockworker strike could disrupt shipments of a variety of goods flowing through East Coast and Gulf ports. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
US GROCERY STORES COULD BE OUT OF POPULAR FRUIT WITHIN WEEKS AS 45,000 PORT WORKERS THREATEN TO STRIKE
THE CRS noted that as of August 2023, presidents have used Taft-Hartley to intervene in labor disputes on 37 occasions since the law took effect. Incidentally, the last time the Taft-Hartley intervention mechanism was invoked was in response to a West Coast port dispute.
In October 2002, President George W. Bush appointed a BOI amid a labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) during a lockout during contract negotiations. After the BOI released its report in November 2022, the two sides reached a tentative agreement.
An analysis by J.P. Morgan found that the cost of a dockworker strike at seaports on the East and Gulf coasts could cost the U.S. economy $5 billion a day. (Photographer: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
What did the White House say about the intervention?
Earlier this month, the White House reported this President Biden has “never invoked Taft-Hartley to break a strike and are not considering doing so now” and that the administration supports continuing negotiations between the two sides.
Robyn Patterson, deputy White House press secretary, reiterated this view in a statement to FOX Business on Wednesday.
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“Since taking office, the Biden-Harris administration has developed a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to monitor and mitigate potential supply chain impacts, from severe weather to transportation service disruptions to the collapse of Key Bridge this spring in Baltimore,” Patterson said. “As part of this approach, we are monitoring and evaluating potential ways to address impacts to U.S. supply chains related to operations at our ports, as needed. That said, we continue to encourage the parties to continue negotiating toward an agreement that benefits all parties and prevents any disruption.”
FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.