PHILADELPHIA, PA (AP) – Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.
The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike. The strike affecting 36 ports is the first by the union since 1977.
Workers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight, walking in a circle at a rail crossing outside the port and chanting, “No work without a fair contract.”
The union had message boards on the side of a truck reading: “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands For Job Protection.”
Local ILA president Boise Butler says workers want a fair contract that doesn’t allow automation of their jobs.
Shipping companies made billions during the pandemic by charging high prices, he mentions. “Now we want them to pay back. They’re going to pay back,” Butler says.
He says the union will strike for as long as it needs to get a fair deal, and it has leverage over the companies.
Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see an immediate impact from the strike because most retailers stocked up on goods, moving ahead shipments of holiday gift items.
LOCAL IMPACTS
- Immediate: Perishable imports like bananas could become unavailable.
- A few weeks: Potential higher prices and delays in goods reaching households and businesses.
- Longer than a few weeks: Businesses will be forced to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for peak holiday shopping season.
J.P. Morgan estimates that a strike that shuts down East and Gulf coast ports could cost the economy $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion per day, with some of that recovered over time after normal operations resume.