The 22,000 West Coast dock workers who load and unload most of the region’s cargo ships are not likely to reach an agreement with their employers by July 1— the expiration date for their current contract.
The likelihood of federal intervention from the Biden administration undermines the possibility that the dockworkers, represented by the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU), will strike.
However, the union has alternative labor actions at its disposal to potentially throttle the speed of the West Coast’s ports. The threat of a deliberate “slowdown” has caused Seattle-based freight companies to divert cargo away from the Port of Seattle, according to Peter Ku, Seattle-based branch manager at
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