AAFA joins call to Biden administration over supply chain concerns

The American Apparel and Footwear Association has joined a group of trade organizations in asking the Biden Administration to engage in East Coast and Gulf Coast port worker contract negotiations.

AAFA, an association with more than 1,000 fashion industry members , added its signature to 159 other trade groups in a letter to President Joe Biden last week. Other signees included the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America, and groups representing manufacturers, farmers, agribusiness and “other supply chain stakeholders.”

The negotiations are between the International Longshoreman’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance. The contract concerns all maritime ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast and is set to expire on Sept. 30, according to the letter. 

The ILA halted negotiations with the USMX on June 10, after discovering that a port in Mobile, Alabama, was using an auto gate system, which processes trucks without labor. The ILA said it would not meet with the USMX until the auto gate issue was resolved, because automatic systems such as this eliminate jobs, according to the ILA. The ILA has also called for a coastwide strike if a new deal isn’t reached before the contract expires.

In the letter, the trade groups cited recent challenges to supply chain disruptions and said “the last thing the supply chain, companies and employees — all of which rely on the movement of goods, both imports and exports, through our East Coast and Gulf Coast ports — need is a strike or other disruptions because of an ongoing labor negotiation.”

The groups further called on the administration to work with both parties to resume negotiations.

“As we have seen with previous supply chain-related negotiations, the only way the parties can reach an agreement that will ensure their continued global competitiveness and that of the supply chain stakeholders that rely upon them is to remain at the table until a new agreement is finalized,” the letter stated.

AAFA members include apparel, footwear and other sewn product companies and their suppliers. Brand members include American Eagle Outfitters, Banana Republic, Capri Holdings and Calvin Klein, among others.