White House urges dockworkers and East Coast ports to settle differences amid strike threat [Video]

White House officials on Thursday called for dockworkers and port operators to return to the bargaining table as time runs short to avoid the first major strike at shipping terminals along the East and Gulf Coasts in nearly half a century. 

Negotiations between the the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents ports, container carriers and other industry players, have been stalled since June. But the labor dispute has taken on added urgency as thousands of dockworkers are preparing to walk off their jobs when their contract expires at midnight on September 30. 

“Senior officials from the White House, Labor Department and Department of Transportation are in touch with the parties and delivering the message to them directly on being at the table and negotiating in good faith fairly and quickly,” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson told CBS News. 

Experts warn that even a short work stoppage at the …