DOL’s Su Worked With Dockworkers, Ports to Stave Off Strike (1)

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su spent her last weeks in office helping the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance avoid a potential strike at major East and West Coast ports next week.

The union, which represents 47,000 cargo handlers at Eastern US and Gulf Coast ports, had threatened to walk off the job on Jan. 15 if the maritime alliance didn’t agree to include protections from automation in their next contract.

“I’ve been in touch with both sides,” Su said in an interview with Bloomberg Law on Jan. 8 hours before the parties reached a tentative ...