U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez during at visit to the Port of Los Angeles on Monday. Click on the image to view the rest of the gallery by Press-Telegram photographer Thomas R. Cordova.
From the U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said Monday that bills before Congress seeking to avoid lengthy negotiations marked by slowdowns and employer retaliation that recently plagued West Coast ports aren’t the answer. His statement poured cold water on any hopes that the Obama administration would provide support for the legislation.
“I don’t support those bills. I don’t think they are necessary,” Perez told a gathering of port-related stakeholders in Los Angeles that included the heads of the West Coast longshore union, a group representing employers, congressional representatives whose districts include the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the top executives from the two largest U.S. ports.
U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, whose district includes the Port of Long Beach, agreed with Perez. “I don’t think we need a legislative solution,” Lowenthal said. The PMA and ILWU know each other and are used to dealing with each other, he said. However, he added that it is important for the two mayors to be engaged in the negotiating process early on and keep it from dragging on, “but not to change the process,” he said.