Sawt Falasteen - Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day

About 45,000 workers with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) walked off their port jobs early Tuesday, having failed to reach a new agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents shipping companies and terminal operators.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the strike could be ended quickly, arguing that shippers need to share more of the bounty after a period of "unbelievable profits."

"We actually think the parties, economically, are not as far apart from each other as they may think," Buttigieg told CNBC a day after the strike began at major East and Gulf Coast ports.

"They're the ones who need to get to the table, work it out, reach a deal and get those ports back," Buttigieg said.

But an ILA spokesman said early Wednesday afternoon that there was no news in terms of negotiations. Top union brass went to picket and were joined by members of the Teamsters union.

The ILA is pressing for protections against automation-related job loss and for hefty wage hikes after dockworkers kept providing essential services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

USMX said late Wednesday that it hoped to return soon to the bargaining table.

"Reaching an agreement will require negotiating –- and our full focus is on how to return to the table to further discuss these vital components, many of which are intertwined," USXM said.

"We cannot agree to preconditions to return to bargaining –- but we remain committed to bargaining in good faith to address the ILA's demands and USMX's concerns," it added.

- 'Catastrophe' -

President Joe Biden's administration has signaled it has no plans to intervene in the strike, with Biden himself emphasizing the importance of collective bargaining rights.

But South Carolina officials Governor Henry McMaster and Senator Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, said the president should reconsider his position in light of the effects of Hurricane Helene, which has ravaged the Carolinas.

"We're having our ports shut down in the middle of just a catastrophe in this part of South Carolina and North Carolina. I'm all for people being treated fairly. But I've urged President Biden not to let this go on much longer," said Graham, who expressed worry about access to medical supplies.

"This hurricane was Mother Nature. The port problem is man-made. So I'm urging President Biden, do not let this linger," Graham said, warning the continued port closures could lead to a "calamity."

An ILA spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Graham's remarks.

However, the union blasted an article in the New York Post which published photos of ILA President Harold Daggett's estate in Sparta, New Jersey, along with an image of a Bentley car.

The Post article was published "with the intention of weakening his ability to negotiate a new Master Contract for ILA members," the ILA said.

"The publication of pictures of Mr Daggett's home is reckless and places Mr Daggett and his family at great risk of personal harm," said a letter from his attorney to the New York Post counsel.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST