ILWU President Willie Adams meets with President Biden to discuss supply chain crisis at historic White House meeting
On October 11th, ILWU President Willie Adams received a call that he won’t soon forget: “First thing in the morning on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I received a call from Biden Administration Port Envoy John Porcari on behalf of the President asking if I could fly to Washington and join him for a meeting with the White House,” President Adams recalled. “My response was yes.”
On October 13th, ILWU International President Willie Adams attended a meeting with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, National Economic Council Brian Deese, Port Envoy John Porcari and key supply chain stakeholders from business, labor, and government to discuss the ongoing supply chain crisis.
The meeting was a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing effort to address the supply chain challenges caused by the enormous surge in cargo since the onset of COVID. President Adams, along with Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, attended the meeting in person while the other industry stakeholders joined the meeting virtually.
Although it is easy to take a picture of ships at anchor at our ports, the facts are cargo bottlenecks lie farther down the supply chain. The result is containers sitting at the ports and causing backlogs and congestion. Because of increased pandemic-related consumer demand, an unprecedented surge of container cargo began arriving at West Coast ports starting in July of 2020.
In addition to increased cargo volume, there have been equipment and labor shortages in the railway industry, congestion in Midwest rail yards, labor shortages and congestion at warehouse and distribution centers, and chassis and labor shortages in the local and long-haul trucking industry.
In June of 2021, President Biden launched a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force that is focused, in part, on transportation and logistics bottlenecks. In August, John Porcari was appointed Port Envoy to coordinate the many entities that control the decentralized transportation and logistics supply chain that gets goods from ships to shelves.
After the October 13th meeting, President Biden announced at a press event that the Port of Los Angeles would expand to 24/7 operations to help speed up the flow of cargo through the port. Previously, the Port of Long Beach announced 24/7 operations in September 2021. Several companies including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, UPS, and FedEx announced their willingness to utilize 24/7 gates for a portion of their cargo. However, these companies represent only a small fraction of the cargo that moves through the West Coast ports.
The ILWU workforce has long been available to work the 24-hour gates; it has been a part of the ILWU’s contract for decades. However, whether or not workers are hired on nights and weekends is up to the terminal operators. In addition, other links in the supply chain from trucking, rail, warehousing and distribution centers must also be willing to step-up and move to a 24/7 schedule.
At his news conference, President Biden thanked organized labor and the ILWU in particular for stepping up to be a part of the solution to the current supply chain crisis. “I particularly want to thank labor, Willie Adams, President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who is here today,” Biden said.
President Biden then called on businesses to follow labor’s lead and do their part to relieve supply chain congestion.
“We need the rest of the private sector chain to step up as well. This is not called a supply chain for nothing. This means terminal operators, railways, trucking companies, shippers, and other retailers as well. Strengthening our supply chain will continue to be my team’s focus. If federal support is needed, I’ll direct all appropriate actions. If the private sector doesn’t step up, we’re going to call them out and ask them to act. Because our goal is not only to get through this immediate bottleneck but to address the longstanding weaknesses in our transportation supply chain that this pandemic has exposed,” Biden said.
During the White House meeting, President Adams called for a more equitable distribution of port infrastructure money for the West Coast. Currently, that funding is tilted in favor of East Coast, Southern and Gulf Coast ports (roughly $11 billion in funding) compared to the meager $1 billion appropriated to West Coast ports. “Over 46% of the nation’s cargo goes through the West Coast ports,” President Adams noted. “Something is wrong with this balance and we need to fix it.” President Adams also emphasized the need to fund training centers in the Ports of LA/Long Beach and Seattle to help ILWU members update their skills.
“All credit goes to the ILWU longshoremen, mechanics, marine clerks, foremen, and guards who work at the ports day in and day out. We will continue to do the work that we have always done—safely and efficiently move cargo through our West Coast ports. We appreciate President Biden’s comments recognizing that there are system-wide issues causing congestion throughout the supply chain including labor shortages in the trucking industry and a lack of warehouse capacity.
“There is no labor shortage in the ILWU and thankfully, the PMA has continued to register members up and down the coast,” President Adams said. “ILWU members in Southern California and along the West Coast are the true heroes who have moved cargo and showed up to work facing the headwinds of the pandemic while smashing records despite high rates of COVID infections, mental fatigue, and many deaths. Our members haven’t stopped. President Biden gave us an opportunity when he acknowledged the ILWU members and their contributions; the ILWU is part of the solution. For decades, employers have had the right to hire ILWU members for day shifts, night shifts, and hoot shifts under the ILWU-PMA longshore contract. All the employers have to do is put in the order to the dispatch hall and our members will be there to work.
“We have been and will continue to be ready to work 24-hour gates, ships, and rails and do our part to help solve this problem. Everyone has to put some skin in the game to solve this problem. We look forward to continued communication with the White House as we work through this issue.”
The Biden-Harris Administration has created a “Joint Ports Action” industry supply chain advisory group that meets three times a week to address the ongoing supply chain issues and help coordinate supply policy. Coast Committeeman Frank Ponce De Leon was designated by ILWU President Adams as the ILWU representative on that advisory group.
The advisory group includes port leaders, terminal operators, PMA representatives and ocean carriers, representatives from trucking and railroad sectors, chassis management, major retailers, and government officials.
While the task force meets to craft solutions to keep the unprecedented cargo volumes moving along the nationwide supply chain, the ILWU continues being the strongest link and keeps cargo moving on the docks.
“Coast Committeeman Ponce De Leon has been on every call diligently participating and representing the ILWU’s view very well. I want to thank him for volunteering his time,” said President Adams. “Frank will be there until the job is done.”
In addition to addressing the ongoing issues with the supply chain, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to passing an infrastructure bill, which includes funding for West Coast ports, so that we remain competitive in the global economy moving forward.
“With the passage of Biden’s infrastructure bill, West Coast ports will be given a much needed lifeline to keep up with the growing demands of the supply chain,” said President Adams. “This is an investment in the future of our work.”
Strengthening our supply chain will not happen overnight. In the near term, the ILWU will continue to work every day to keep consumer goods flowing, but investment in better port and intermodal infrastructure and training for the next generation of longshoremen is critical. “We are the artery in the supply chain. The membership are the true heroes,” stated President Adams. “For that, the nation owes the hardworking members of the ILWU a debt of honor and gratitude.”
As for the renewed relationship with the White House, President Adams noted, “For the first time in our union’s history, the President of the United States invited the ILWU for a meeting at the White House because our voice matters. Not only do we have a voice at the table, but people are listening,” said President Adams. “The ILWU had an opportunity to meet with the man whose shoulders the world depends on. And he made time to meet with the ILWU. I’m grateful for that. I always hear there are seven wonders of the world but I disagree. I believe there are eight wonders of the world and the 8th wonder is the ILWU and its membership.”