Almost a dozen trucking organization are among more than 300 trade associations calling on President Joe Biden to intervene and end the strike by the longshoremen's union that has closed 36 ports from Maine to Texas.
The letter, in part, says, "Given the dire situation and the massive negative ramifications for our industries and the economy, we implore you to take immediate action to resolve this situation expeditiously."
State trucking associations signing the letter included those from:
- Florida
- Georgia
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Virginia
Also signing the letter were the Harbor Trucking Association and the Intermodal Motor Carriers Association.
The 45,000 members of the International Longshore's Association walked off their jobs at 36 ports along the East and Gulf coasts at midnight Monday when the current contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) expired. The union is calling for raises and a ban on automation it says would eliminate jobs.
Biden, who has portrayed himself as strongly pro-union, has refused to intervene in the strike. He has called on USMX to raise the wages of the dockworkers. He said, "They made incredible profits, over 800% profit since the pandemic, and the owners are making tens of millions of dollars from this," Biden today said. "It's time for them to sit at the table and get this strike done."
Biden could invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to require an 80-day cooling off period during which both sides would return to negotiations.
Saying the strike has become an issue of both economic and national security, the letter said, "These port closures mean that our farmers are not able to sell their crops to overseas markets, manufacturers are not able to receive critical components for manufacturing facilities, retailers won’t be able to get their holiday merchandise in time and many other industries will be negatively impacted."
Earlier this week, the Teamsters supported the dockworkers' strike.
