As ports work to clear backlogs, officials say the network remains “fragile,” and potential tensions during the negotiations could lead to further delays. Disagreements between labor and companies during two of three most recent contract negotiations caused cargo delays that cost individual manufacturers and retailers millions, the Journal reported.
“If anything further disrupts the supply chain, it will be devastating,” Jim McKenna, head of the Pacific Maritime Association, who will lead labor talks on behalf of employers, told the Journal.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is seeking “a contract that honors, respects, and protects good American jobs and U.S. importers and exporters,” union President Willie Adams wrote in an open letter May 6.
