The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) is urging its members to contact lawmakers, and leaders of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), to push for a resolution to the West Coast port contract negotiations before their June 30 deadline.
A substantial percentage of products for stores and warehouses originates in the Asia-Pacific region, so it is critical that West Coast ports continue operating at peak efficiency all year especially for products en route to stores for the holiday selling season.
“Our retail members are already fighting many obstacles to succeed, and a work slowdown or stoppage certainly doesn’t help an economic recovery,” said Matt Carlson, President and CEO of NSGA. “A large portion of the equipment, footwear and clothing sold in stores is imported from the Asia-Pacific region. These products must reach our members in a timely fashion because efficient distribution of product is vital to their business operations.”
NSGA asks its members to sign letters regarding their concern about the situation to President Obama, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and to their federal representatives. See www.house.gov/representative/find to find the mailing address for your elected representatives and for examples of letters go to www.nsga.org.
If the deadline passes without an agreement, a work slowdown or stoppage could play havoc with tens of thousands of containers of new products bound for sporting goods stores across the country. If manufacturers are forced to rely on air shipments or re-routing to Gulf or East Coast ports to avoid delays, it would likely result in higher prices for consumers, which would have a negative effect on the economic recovery.
Since 2002, there have been three instances where labor negotiations threatened to slow or stop the flow of products into ports on both coasts. NSGA, along with other trade associations, made its voice heard so its members were not disadvantaged.
