U.S. President Joe Biden does not intend to invoke a federal law to prevent a port strike on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico if dockworkers fail to secure a new labour contract by an October 1 deadline, an administration official said on Tuesday.
U.S. presidents can intervene in labour disputes that threaten national security or safety by imposing an 80-day cooling-off period under the federal Taft-Hartley Act, forcing workers back on the job while negotiations continue.
“We’ve never invoked Taft-Hartley to break a strike and are not considering doing so now,” the Biden administration official told Reuters. “We encourage all parties to remain at the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.”
Read more in an article from Reuters.