The 29 ports that shutdown along the US West Coast over the Presidents’ Day long weekend reopened on 17 February, with US labor secretary Tom Perez landing in California to assist in negotations.
US president Barack Obama sent Perez to California to intervene in the ongoing labour dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents its international shipping company members, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents some 20,000 dockworkers.
'Secretary Perez has meetings with both parties today in San Francisco,' White House spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa told Reuters on 17 February. 'He'll urge the parties to resolve their dispute quickly at the bargaining table.”
Unsettled negotiations over worker contracts have seen congestion build at ports on the US West Coast for several months, having detrimental effects on fresh produce exports.
Major citrus and kiwifruit grower-packer Sun Pacific has estimated the costs of the port slowdowns sat at US$3m per week, with exports half of the usual 350 containers it ships during its peak exportperiod of February and March.
President of California Citrus Mutual Joel Nelson said strikes and congestion had cost the US citrus industry US$500m in export opportunities.
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