Port of Long Beach | Source: stock.adobe.com

As many in the U.S. settled in for the long holiday weekend, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and more than 150 local, state, and national trade associations — including The Toy Association — co-signed a letter delivered to the White House.

In the letter dated July 1, 2022, the coalition of trade associations urged President Biden and his administration — including Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Department of Transportation, Secretary Marty Walsh, Department of Labor, and Secretary Gina Raimondo, Department of Commerce — to continue working with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to ensure that a new labor agreement can be reached without disruption to port operations.

A copy of the letter received by the Toy Book can be read here.

Related: Supply Chain Struggles Continue as U.S. Toy Industry Prepares for Additional Challenges

The existing contract expired at the end of June and has been a growing concern over the past year. A joint statement issued by the ILWU and PMA on Friday says that while there will be no extension of the existing contract, work is expected to continue without a stoppage or lockout.

Labor concerns on the West Coast have been just another piece of an increasingly complex supply chain puzzle for the toy industry and everyone else using ocean freight. Paired with the continued logjams of the past two years, COVID-19 concerns, inflation, the continuing Russia-Ukraine War, and other factors, a breakdown of labor talks could have disastrous consequences that all parties appear eager to avoid.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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