LONG BEACH, Calif. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Tuesday.

Following a boat tour of the San Pedro Bay Port Complex, Buttigieg and other lawmakers discussed the work being done to ease congestion by the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Task Force, while promoting all the money that’s been promised to the area by the Department of Transportation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure law and Gov. Newsom’s 2022-2023 state budget proposal. “The California Blueprint” includes a planned investment of $2.3 billion for California ports.

In some respects, things are moving in the right direction. The container dwell fee keeps getting postponed. It’s on hold until Jan. 17. This is because the two ports report a combined decline of 45% in aging cargo on the docks since the program was announced in October.

While workers are already pushed to the max taking care of this backlog, a familiar problem is reemerging. Every day brings new emails that Eric Tate doesn't want to open. The secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 848 constantly sorts through notifications, each telling him a colleague has COVID.

After a few months with zero cases, Tate says the absolute worst surge to date started suddenly in December 2021 among a workforce that’s split down the middle. Tate says half is vaccinated.

“I wish we had 100% of people vaccinated, but at the same time, everybody in this local is an adult, and they have to make the decision for themselves,” he said.

Tate himself was hesitant about the vaccine, but seeing friends die changed his mind. He still got sick, although the symptoms were relatively mild, which is what he explains to unvaccinated union members.

“I like to tell them, you know, I bet most people can’t even name the 11 herbs and spices that are in Kentucky Fried Chicken, but they’re eating it every week, so if you put it into perspective, there’s a lot of things that are in our bodies that we don’t know exactly what it is,” said Tate.

There are many different workers represented by local 848 including port truckers, many of whom are staying home in quarantine.

Noel Hacegaba, deputy executive director for the Port of Long Beach, says the surge in cases is bad enough to warrant reopening an old COVID testing site that was instrumental during the last peak.

“We’re keeping a very close eye on the number of cases and what that is doing to the number of folks who are showing up for work. So far, we have not had to shut down any of our operations,” said Hacegaba.

Right after the holidays, there would normally be a lull in cargo movement, but that isn't the case this year — especially since the backlog at the ports never fully went away.

Desperate for drivers, many companies advertise signing bonuses. These circumstances often give Tate the upper hand when it comes to salary negotiations.

“Even the companies that are fighting saying they can’t afford those increases, I’m telling them, either you pay it, either pay more, or these workers are going elsewhere,” said Tate.

There are great rewards — and risks — for those who can work.