Shippers and striking US dockworkers are closer to agreeing on economic terms than they realize, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday.

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“We actually think the parties, economically, are not as far apart from each other as they may think,” Buttigieg told CNBC a day after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) launched a strike at major East and Gulf Coast ports.

“They’re the ones who need to get to the table, work it out, reach a deal, and get those ports back,” Buttigieg said.

About 45,000 workers walked off their port jobs early Tuesday, having failed to reach a new agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, by the Monday night deadline.

The union is pressing for protections against automation-related job loss and hefty wage hikes after dockworkers kept providing essential services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buttigieg said in his travels to Europe, he had seen examples of port upgrades that were “implemented in partnership with their trade unions in a way that didn’t lead to any job loss.”

An ILA spokesman said Wednesday afternoon there were no updates on the negotiations front.

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The USMX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Buttigieg echoed other Biden administration officials who have called for the shipping companies to step up with a better offer after a stretch of huge profits.

“We’re talking about an industry that got unbelievable profits,” Buttigieg said, citing one year in which global shippers made $220 billion. “They are certainly in a position to be able to include workers to participate in this profitability. They could end this tomorrow.”

Analysts caution that a lengthy strike could pose a major headwind to the US economy, leading to shortages of some items and lifting costs at a time when inflation has been moderating.

A lengthy strike would also increase calls for a White House intervention to end the strike, which comes in the final weeks of a contentious US presidential campaign.

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