| | | | |  | | By Sam Ogozalek | | Presented by |  | | | With help from James Bikales
| | — The Biden administration isn’t ready — as of now — to step in to avert a potential port strike along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast. Retail interests are worried. — At a stop in Michigan, a key battleground state, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned that if Republicans cut EV tax incentives, the auto industry will suffer. — The Senate Commerce Committee will consider four Amtrak board nominees this week. Here’s who. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We’re glad you’re here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Sam at sogozalek@politico.com, Chris at cmarquette@politico.com and Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and follow us at @SamOgozalek, @ChrisMarquette and @oriana0214. “Oh, wake up in the morning/ Brush my teeth and comb my hair/ Well, wake up in the morning/ Brush my teeth and comb my hair/ Well, there's a big black Cadillac parked in the street over there.” Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l: Safety starts with two highly trained, qualified pilots on the flight deck. In a recent ALPA poll, nearly 80% of Americans say they would not feel safe flying on remotely operated planes. Yet some manufacturers are considering replacing pilots with automation. Learn what’s at risk and why the best pilot is two. | | | | | STAY AT THE TABLE, OK: A strike at East and Gulf coast ports ticked a step closer after union delegates from the International Longshoremen’s Association last week voiced unanimous support for one if a new labor agreement is not reached in time. But, for now, the Biden administration says it’s not ready to step in, even as concerns among retailers and manufacturers mount about the potential for severe disruptions at ports from Maine to Texas starting Oct. 1. The union and the United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, are at a stalemate over a new contract covering about 25,000 port workers. — An administration official on Friday urged “all parties to remain at the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.” But the official added that the administration has never invoked the Taft-Hartley Act, a federal labor law that limits the power of unions, to break a strike — and it is “not considering doing so now.” RETAILERS: NO STRIKES FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, said port congestion will be significant if a strike occurs. He added that retailers have preemptively been trying to mitigate possible effects, bringing in cargo earlier than usual and shifting product back to the West Coast. A strike, he said, would affect every U.S. industry that relies on ports, from retail to manufacturing to agriculture. “Retailers are prepared for the holiday season,” he said. But the longer a strike goes, the higher the chances of issues for consumers. “Hopefully that won’t result in product not being available on the store shelves.” When asked about the potential use of Taft-Hartley, Gold demurred, saying only that it’s a tool the administration can “look at.” GROWING CONCERNS: Other interests are worried, too. In a statement Friday, John Drake, vice president of transportation, infrastructure and supply chain policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, called for the Biden administration — along with other parties — to “keep these negotiations on track.” — The union didn’t respond to a request for comment. USMX in a recent update on negotiations said it is prepared to resume them to avoid a strike. “The ILA continues to strongly signal it has already made the decision to call a strike and we hope the ILA will reopen dialogue and share its current contract demands so we can work together on a new deal,” USMX said.
| | THE FIGHT FOR MICHIGAN: During a visit to a construction project in Lansing, Michigan, funded by the 2021 infrastructure law, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned that if Republicans slash tax incentives that support the U.S. electric vehicles industry, it would “kill” auto manufacturing and building trades jobs. He declined to comment on the election but added that a “policy change could put infrastructure funding at risk.” Sam has more here. — MT readers will know that the Great Lakes State is crucial in the 2024 race — and EVs are a touchy subject. Kamala Harris has snagged the UAW’s endorsement, but Republican nominee Donald Trump is trying to court rank-and-file union members who may be uneasy about the nation’s EV transition. WHERE’S TRUMP: The former president has been anything but clear on EVs, of course, having softened his tone on such vehicles after Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed him this summer. He has pledged to end the Biden administration’s non-existent EV “mandate” while also praising Musk’s cars.
| | AMTRAK NOMINEES: The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday to consider four nominees for the Amtrak Board of Directors. The nominees are: David Capozzi, who is retired and was previously executive director of the U.S. Access Board from 2008 to 2020; Samuel Lathem, the first Black president of Delaware State AFL-CIO; Ronald Batory, the former FRA chief under Trump; and Elaine Clegg, CEO of Valley Regional Transit in Idaho. Earlier this year, the Senate OK’d three appointees to the board, restarting a process delayed after Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) asked for an Amtrak representative from outside of the Northeast Corridor. Batory lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Clegg lives in Boise, Idaho, according to the White House. Capozzi and Lathem are from Maryland and Delaware, respectively.
| | SPENDING FIGHT: House Republicans have a stopgap funding bill — setting up a showdown with Senate Democrats as a Oct. 1 government shutdown looms. It will largely keep funding at its current levels through late March, but it also includes a GOP proposal to require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. Jordain Carney, Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes have more.
| | | | A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l:   | | | | | LITHIUM CHALLENGES: Producers of a key EV ingredient, lithium, are facing headwinds that complicate the Biden administration’s clean energy agenda. Due to sagging prices, some companies are putting projects on hold. The presidential election, which has created uncertainty about what will happen with federal EV tax credits, is fueling market volatility, too, Hannah Northey reports for POLITICO’s E&E News. LABOR IN LORDSTOWN: EV research firm Atlas Public Policy is out this morning with a case study on the Ultium Cells battery manufacturing facility in Lordstown, Ohio, the first unionized EV battery cell manufacturing facility in the country. The report, supported by funding from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, examines the plant’s impact on the local economy and the unionization effort, which was a flashpoint in last fall’s UAW strike. The Lordstown workers reached a contract agreement earlier this summer, and workers at another Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, signed cards to join the UAW last week.
| | WELCOME BACK: Starliner, the Boeing spacecraft that was stuck at the International Space Station for months due to thruster and helium leak issues, successfully returned to Earth early Saturday (Eastern time), landing in New Mexico with no astronauts aboard. NASA opted to bring the craft back autonomously due to safety concerns. Its two test pilots will remain at the ISS and later catch a ride home with Boeing rival SpaceX. Starliner will be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection and processing, NASA said. — Boeing’s take: “I want to recognize the work the Starliner teams did to ensure a successful and safe undocking, deorbit, re-entry and landing,” Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. “We will review the data and determine the next steps for the program.”
| | JOB NUMBERS RELEASED: The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector in August was 4.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted) — 0.1 percentage point lower than the rate during the same month last year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Friday, citing numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment in the sector reached its highest level, 15.7 percent, early in the pandemic, BTS said.
| | | TENTATIVE AGREEMENT: Boeing on Sunday said it reached a tentative contract agreement with IAM Districts 751 and W24, which represent over 33,000 employees at the aerospace company. “The contract offer provides the largest-ever general wage increase, lower medical cost share to make healthcare more affordable, greater company contributions toward your retirement, and improvements for a better work-life balance,” Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stephanie Pope said in a video message to workers. She added that, as part of the contract, Boeing’s team in the Puget Sound region will build the company’s “next new airplane.” JUMP IN SALES: The Aerospace Industries Association, in collaboration with S&P Global Market Intelligence, today released data showing that the U.S. aerospace and defense industry generated over $955 billion in sales in 2023 — a 7.1 percent increase from the previous year. Nearly 60 percent of jobs in the industry are directly linked to the supply chain.
| | | | — SK, a battery manufacturer, is the newest member of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
| | — “Donald Trump could turn Elon Musk into an American oligarch.” POLITICO. — “Musk’s xAI Has Discussed Deal for Share in Future Tesla Revenue.” Wall Street Journal. — “Musk denies report his xAI in talks over Tesla revenue.” Reuters. — “Lawmakers probe if US retailers bought Chinese auto parts that evaded tariffs.” Reuters. — “Japan to give up to $2.4 bln in new support for domestic EV battery production.” Reuters. — “Toyota cuts 2026 global EV output plans by a third, Nikkei reports.” Reuters. — “Airbus Hands Over 47 Jets to Airlines in August in Summer Lull.” Bloomberg. — “Europe Pulls Back From EV Shift as Consumers Snub Pricey Models.” Bloomberg. — “What to do about America’s killer cars.” The Economist. — “Metro has traffic bottlenecks too. Here's the worst one.” NBC4.
| | A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l: Safe flights depend on the power of two pilots. Research shows that one person cannot fly a commercial airliner safely, even with the latest advances in technology, navigation, communications and weather monitoring. Learn why this safety requirement should not be changed, and why the power of two pilots is critical when lives are on the line. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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