California produce is rotting on the decks of container ships as a labor dispute continues between port workers (represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union) and their employers –the Pacific Maritime Association. President Barack Obama dispatched Labor secretary Thomas Perez to San Francisco this week to urge both sides to come to an agreement but it’s yet to be seen whether the two sides can come to terms. Meanwhile, foreign importers and California exporters are scrambling to find new ways to ship their goods.

Jock O’Connell is a Sacramento-based International Trade Advisor for Beacon Economics. He joins us to explain how this labor dispute is hurting California, and how it’s only one of many problems troubling West Coast ports.   

LINKS:

• Sacramento Bee: The real roots of congestion at California ports
• KQED: Shipping Resumes at Port of Oakland; Labor Dispute Continues
• Wall Street Journal: Parties in West Coast Port Dispute Meet With U.S. Labor Secretary
• Information On the Panama Canal