In a monumental labor dispute, approximately 45,000 dockworkers across the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are threatening to go on strike on October 1, potentially shutting down 36 ports that handle nearly half of the nation’s cargo from ships. The International Longshoremen’s Union (ILA) is demanding higher wages and an outright ban on the automation of cranes, gates, and container movements used in the loading and unloading of freight.
A strike of this scale could have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. economy, especially if it persists for more than a few weeks. CBS News reports how experts suggest that consumers might not immediately experience shortages of goods, particularly holiday-related items, which have largely been imported in advance. However, if the strike extends beyond a month, supply chains could be severely disrupted, leading to spot shortages in consumer goods and parts for industries like auto manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.
The looming strike comes after months of stalled negotiations between the ILA and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports. The two sides have not held national talks since June, when negotiations were halted to complete local port agreements. Harold Daggett, president of the ILA, has warned that the union is prepared to strike once its contract expires on September 30, noting that the parties are “very far apart.”
“We’ll shut them down on October 1 if we don’t get the kind of wages we deserve,” Daggett said. CBS News adds that currently, top-scale port workers earn $39 an hour, amounting to just over $81,000 annually, with some workers earning up to $200,000 a year through overtime and benefits. While both sides have avoided discussing wage specifics, Daggett has argued that workers need substantial pay raises to offset inflation and secure a share of the record profits that companies earned during the pandemic.
One of the central sticking points is the issue of automation. The union is adamant that automation could lead to significant job losses, while port operators argue that modernizing port infrastructure is necessary to keep up with global competition. Automation has been slowly introduced in some ports, such as the Port of Mobile, Alabama, where automated gates process trucks without human labor. The Maritime Alliance has offered to retain provisions that block the use of fully automated terminals without a joint agreement to protect jobs, but the union remains steadfast in its opposition.
Daggett maintains that the fight against automation will be a long-term battle. “We do not believe that robotics should take over a human being’s job,” he said, pointing to ports around the world where automation has gradually been introduced, often without mass layoffs. For instance, a study from the University of California, Berkeley found that paid hours for union members increased by 11.2% between 2015 and 2021 in Los Angeles-area ports where automation was introduced.
Despite the threat of a strike, most analysts do not expect President Biden to intervene before the Nov. 5 presidential election. While the president could invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to delay the strike with an 80-day cooling-off period, an administration official told Reuters on Tuesday that there were no plans to take such action, urging both sides to negotiate in good faith.
