Port of Seattle reopens as US Labor Secretary attempts new resolution to dispute

SEATTLE –  The Port of Seattle opened Tuesday morning confirmed port spokesman Peter McGraw.

McGraw said operations restarted between 6:00 and 7:00am.

There was a long line of trucks waiting outside the port Tuesday morning.



This as the Associated Press reported that  U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is meeting in San Francisco Tuesday with negotiators in an attempt to resolve a dispute that that all but shut down West Coast seaports over the holiday weekend.

The dockworkers union and port terminal operators began meeting in May, and in recent weeks, their disagreements at the bargaining table have led to big delays moving cargo through 29 seaports from Southern California to Seattle.

After a fruitless meeting Friday between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, President Barack Obama said Saturday that Perez would come west and engage in the talks. Over the weekend, Perez was in touch by phone with both sides.

Dozens of ships are lined up waiting to be unloaded as the ports all but shut down over the holiday weekend.