Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) has called for President Joe Biden to take action to prevent a strike along the East Coast that poses a major financial impact should the strike go through.
The Biden administration has stated there are currently no plans to use a federal law to prevent a strike along U.S. ports from Texas to Maine. Donalds is warning, though, that this would “send shockwaves through the pocketbooks” of families with more price increases. The International Longshoremen’s Association, which is representing employees at three dozen docks, has said that its members are prepared to strike on Oct. 1 unless a new labor contract is reached before then.
“The bigger question is why isn’t the Biden and Harris administration trying to do anything about this,” Donalds said on Fox News’s The Faulkner Focus. “They should be getting involved now. That’s what presidential leadership looks like, and the fact that they’re going to sit on the sidelines and watch is frankly reminiscent of the rest of their economic policy. They sit on the sidelines, they put in bad policy, and they do not respond when the harm hits the pocketbooks of every American.”
Donalds explained that should this strike happen, a report has stated the country’s economy would be hit by $5 billion daily until the strike is resolved. He added that this would further hurt families who are already financially behind and stressed that a new deal needs to be made “pretty quickly.”
“But this is where the executive branch has purview,” Donalds said in reference to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “Congress has delegated that authority and given the ability for the president to step in. Where is he? And, quite frankly, where is she?”
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The Florida congressman noted how the other ports that are unaffected by these strikes would not be able to cover fully for the ports on the nation’s East Coast. Donalds also pointed to California’s “crazy environment rules,” which dictate the products that can be delivered by ships, as a major contributing factor.
It is possible for Biden to intervene and prevent a strike using the federal Taft-Hartley Act, which would create an 80-day cooling-off period as negotiations continue. During this time, workers are still required to work during negotiations.