US east and Gulf coast port workers were set to go on strike last night with no talks scheduled to head off a stoppage threatening to halt container traffic from Maine to Texas and cost the US economy as much as US$5 billion a day.
The labor contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association union representing 45,000 port workers and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group was to expire last night, with negotiations at an impasse over pay.
A port strike would go ahead starting today at 12:01am local time, the union said on Sunday.
Photo: Bloomberg
The USMX “refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation,” the union said in a statement.
If union members do walk off the job, it would be its first coast-wide strike since 1977, affecting ports that handle about half of the nation’s ocean shipping.
No negotiations are taking place and none were planned before the deadline, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The union has previously said the strike would not impact military cargo shipments or cruise ship traffic.
However, a strike could stop the flow of everything from food to vehicles at major ports, potentially jeopardizing jobs and stoking inflation weeks ahead of the US presidential election.
Business Roundtable, which represents major US business leaders, said it was “deeply concerned about the potential strike at the east coast and Gulf coast ports.”
The group said a labor stoppage could cost the US economy billions of dollars daily, hurting businesses, workers and consumers across the country.
A short strike could have a limited economic impact given many companies have imported extra goods ahead of a possible work stoppage or shifted more shipments to west coast ports. However, a strike that continues for weeks could have serious economic impacts.
The strike could wedge labor-friendly US President Joe Biden into a no-win position as US Vice President Kamala Harris runs a razor-tight election race against former US president Donald Trump.
Biden on Sunday said he did not intend to intervene to prevent a walkout if dock workers failed to secure a new contract.
US presidents can intervene in labor disputes that threaten national security or safety by imposing an 80-day cooling-off period under the federal Taft-Hartley Act, forcing workers back on the job while negotiations continue.
Retailers that account for about half of all container shipping volume, and are headed into their all-important winter holiday sales season, have been busily employing backup plans.
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