On June 5, 2015, Senator Cory Gardner introduced legislation to minimize the threat of shutdowns and strikes at seaports. The bill, “Protecting Orderly and Responsible Transit of Shipments (PORTS),” would expand the Taft Hartley Act, a federal law that limits the control of labor unions, currently afforded on to the President, to governors.
According to a release by the Journal of Commerice, ”Gardner’s bill would expand Taft-Hartley to specifically cover slowdowns as well as strikes and lockouts. It also would allow governors of port states to direct their attorney general to use the act seek a federal court injunction against slowdowns, strikes or lockouts.”
Specific modifications include the following:
- A governor may request the President to appoint a board of inquiry
- A governor may appoint a board of inquiry if the President has not
- A governor may direct an Attorney General to make a petition to the courts if the President does not
Additionally, the act would precisely cover strikes, lockouts, and slowdowns at seaports.
It is still unclear if the bill will be able to advance in the Senate.
The full bill can be accessed online here: link
The JOC press release can be viewed here: link
