Tens of thousands of dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports reaffirmed plans to walk off the job when the current contract with port employers expires as of 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.

The International Longshoremen’s Association in a statement Sunday reaffirmed its plans to set up pickets Oct. 1 at ports from Maine to Texas in a job action that directly involves 25,000 workers in container and ro-ro services.

The union charged that the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) representing terminal operators and ocean carriers “refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation where Ocean Carriers (sic) profits skyrocketed from millions to mega-billion dollars, while ILA wages remained flat.”

The union is reportedly seeking a pay hike of as much as 70% over the six years of a new contract. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union representing West Coast dockworkers in 2023 negotiated wage increases of around 32%.

A strike would affect ports handling $92 billion or two-thirds of U.S. trade, idling container handling at the Port of New York-New Jersey, the country’s second-busiest box hub, as well as car and truck imports into Baltimore, the leading gateway for vehicle imports.

The USMX did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

President Joe Biden, who has wooed union support for the general election that is just weeks away, said he would not block a strike. The Taft-Hartley Act gives the president powers to intervene and order a cooling-off period while negotiations resume, but the White House has said it has no plans to force longshore employees back to work.

Manufacturers and other shippers spent most of the summer frontloading imports for the end-of-year retail season in a bid to get ahead of a possible strike and global port congestion worsened by rebel attacks on shipping through the Red Sea. Ports in the U.S. saw early peak traffic, and industry observers say a relatively short strike may have little immediate effect. However, industries that rely on lean inventories and just-in-time deliveries such as automotive manufacturing could see their businesses pressured early on.

By Stuart Chirls

Source: Freightwaves. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-strike-still-on-schedule-union-says. 30 September 2024.

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