Executive Order 13275: Creating a Board of Inquiry To Report on Certain Labor Disputes Affecting the Maritime Industry of the United States
President: George W. Bush
Created a Taft-Hartley Board of Inquiry to investigate the Pacific Coast port lockout between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and maritime employers and report to the President by October 8, 2002.
Status: Completed/expired.
Is Executive Order 13275 still in effect? No. Completed; board reported and the dispute settled in 2002.
What does Executive Order 13275 do?
The order assigned these duties: Board of Inquiry — Investigate the dispute and report facts to the President; Justice Department — Seek statutory court relief if the President directed after receiving the report.
Checked the board’s narrow jurisdiction, reporting task and completion against the signed order and contemporaneous record. The board of inquiry was temporary; its report is not an ongoing agency program.
Before and after
Before the order
A bargaining dispute and employer lockout had closed major West Coast ports, disrupting commerce and military shipments.
After the order
The board reported on October 8. At the President’s direction Justice obtained an injunction reopening the ports for the statutory cooling-off period. Federal mediators then assisted negotiations; the parties reached a six-year agreement on November 24 and union members ratified it, ending the emergency process before the injunction expired.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Inquiry | Investigate the dispute and report facts to the President | No later than October 8, 2002 |
| Justice Department | Seek statutory court relief if the President directed after receiving the report | After the report |
| Board of Inquiry | Perform any further functions required by LMRA section 209(b) | Until those functions were complete |
What happened next
EO 13275 signed.
EO 13275 created the Board of Inquiry.
The board reported and Justice sought emergency injunctive relief.
A federal court issued an order reopening the ports during the cooling-off process.
ILWU and PMA reached a six-year agreement through federal mediation.
Court status
See the court documents in Sources by type.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order made the factual finding and initiated the process Congress prescribed in LMRA sections 206–210; the court, not the President alone, determined whether statutory injunctive relief was warranted. The injunction addressed the lockout temporarily, while collective bargaining produced the final settlement. The board had no continuing authority after completing its functions.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- 29 U.S.C. § 176 — boards of inquiry (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →