Women In Business

The Biden administration is urging dockworkers and port owners to reach an independent deal as a nationwide strike threatens to upend dozens of U.S. ports and commerce.The strike, which began Tuesday, involves 45,000 dockworkers demanding better wages. Workers argue their workload has increased due to growth in commerce in the aftermath of the pandemic, while inflation has eroded pay.The economic impact of the strike could hit sometime in the next few weeks, potentially disrupting supply chains and increasing the cost of goods. Still, President Biden says he wants all parties involved to reach a deal on their own.”The owners are making tens of millions of dollars in this. The last thing they need is to profit off of this,” Biden said Wednesday. “It’s time for them to sit at the table and get this strike done.”In a one-on-one interview with Hearst Television, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg echoed the administration’s stance.”We are reminding all of the parties that that’s the case, hoping that that will help motivate them to come to terms, reach a solution, get a good, fair deal that the businesses can succeed with but that does right by the workers,” Buttigieg said.If a resolution is not reached soon, the White House has the ability to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act. The law gives the president the ability to issue a court order and expedite negotiations. Biden also emphasized the need of resolving the strike in light of Hurricane Helene.”This natural disaster is incredibly consequential,” he said. “The last thing we need on top of that is a man-made disaster with what’s going on at the ports.”Despite concerns over impacts to the supply chain, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there is no shortage of supplies being delivered to storm victims, although perishable items may disappear from store shelves first.The Labor Department has been in contact with both sides of the strike and is urging them to resume negotiations. It’s also encouraging shipping companies to share a greater portion of their profits with workers.