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Pete Buttigieg among cabinet members credited for role in reopening ports after dockworker strike

US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks to the media after touring the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

Mario Tama/Getty Images

He thanked the parties for working together and praised the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris.

Christopher Wiggins

Christopher Wiggins is a senior national reporter for The Advocate. He has a rich career in storytelling and highlighting underrepresented voices. Growing up in a bilingual household in Germany, his German mother and U.S. Army father exposed him to diverse cultures early on, influencing his appreciation for varied perspectives and communication. His work in Washington, D.C., primarily covers the nexus of public policy, politics, law, and LGBTQ+ issues. Wiggins' reporting focuses on revealing lesser-known stories within the LGBTQ+ community. Key moments in his career include traveling with Vice President Kamala Harris and interviewing her in the West Wing about LGBTQ+ support. In addition to his national and political reporting, Wiggins represents The Advocate in the White House Press Pool and is a member of several professional journalistic organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, and Society of Professional Journalists. His involvement in these groups highlights his commitment to ethical journalism and excellence in the field. Follow him on X/Twitter @CWNewser (https://twitter.com/CWNewser) and Threads @CWNewserDC (https://www.threads.net/@cwnewserdc).

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Out U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is one of the cabinet members in the Biden administration receiving praise for his role in brokering a tentative agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance on Thursday, which ended a three-day strike that shut down major East Coast and Gulf ports. The agreement, which includes a wage increase for dockworkers, allows the ports to reopen, ensuring critical goods flow again, especially to areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, which has devastated communities from Florida to Virginia.

“This tentative agreement to get workers a historic and much-deserved raise would not be possible without the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, the ILA, and the USMX member companies,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “I want to thank everyone involved for putting the country first, finding a path forward to reopen ports, and ensuring that essential goods—including those bound for areas hard hit by Hurricane Helene—will be moving again.”

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Charleston NBC affiliate WCBD reports that Kenneth Riley, ILA International Vice President for the Port of Charleston, expressed gratitude for Buttigieg’s involvement, saying, “We came up with a deal today with the assistance of the Biden administration, the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Pete Buttigieg, and everybody else who were instrumental in getting all the parties together.” Riley confirmed that dockworkers would be back at work as soon as Thursday night.