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Port of Long Beach executive director J. Christopher Lytle on strikes shutting down California ports.
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Aching knees right now that could be good -- is war at the markets and for consumers just moments ago the Los Angeles mayor announcing.
That union and management have agreed to federal mediation that is in its bid to end the strike.
At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that is according to a Reuters report -- a strike is entering its -- -- as local clerks union the union for them fights for jobs.
They say.
Are being threatened by technology in the future by the way the protests are causing -- near shut down.
A -- nations to busiest ports in nearly one billion dollars today and economic Janis joining us now is.
Of the Port of Long Beach and give your reaction to the news that we're hearing right now.
That the mayor is hard about federal mediation now.
Well I think that's really good news.
The obviously that the parties now for a long period of time haven't been able to.
To reach a conclusion.
Resolution of the problem and I think the -- now of the federal mediators are very very wise step.
I mean you aren't the man in the middle here you're sort of the man in charge of the ports as you're watching these two sides battle against each other on the one side.
You have the clerks union and it's depending on which reports you look at 6800 people who do a lot of clerical work.
At the ports and there were there worried that the future at their jobs are going to be outsourced to computers on the other hand.
You have millions of people small business -- is you know people that are trying to get their goods and get ready for the holiday season.
Frustrated by this I mean how do you balance everyone in this situation and what are you saying to these parties.
Well -- well that's exactly right what we're what we're trying to do as support.
We're we're maintaining a neutral position we simply want to get get the problems resolved between the two parties and get everybody back to work as you as you correctly say.
I mean this this.
Strike now has impacted thousands of people out of work.
Ripple effect will continue each day that the strike continues we'll have massive.
Economic effects.
All the way back to every literally every every corner of the country.
So it's extremely important how to get those parties back to the table get them talking you get this thing resolved.
We have right here in Long Beach we have another roughly thirty vessels.
Do we and we've got about 45 vessel sitting out -- -- -- right now it's a very serious issue.
Yeah I -- they -- sitting -- -- the two ports directly or indirectly support one point two million jobs in Southern California 40%.
Of the nation's imported cargo containers pass through these -- 40%.
So we are talking about you know six to 800 workers holding up.
So much commerce going on any kind of a longshoreman have also refused to cross the picket line in solidarity with their -- union -- their fellow union workers.
But this is a problem you know in not in the long run you know we're talking about jobs that could potentially be out of automated it does seem like about all.
That's tough to fight I mean if it's cheaper to automate these jobs what do you say to these workers.
Well I think that's the part that they have to really reconcile at that table.
We have support -- a little bit outside of -- -- -- we simply want the parties.
Due to get that resolution that they need and it's it's clearly it's a given a take it's gonna require compromise.
From the from the union side in this gonna take a little compromise from the from the employer's.
But simply this this this strike -- -- continue or did the economic effects of this that country of massive.
Yet you're focuses everybody get back to the table let's work this out so that we don't cause more economic hardship thank you so much for coming out we appreciate your time -- -- I'm there.
Sure.
