U.S. longshoremen strike over wages and automation in a fight that could lead to shortages • Maine Morning Star

Tens of thousands of longshore workers went on strike from Texas to Maine on Tuesday to demand higher wages and a ban on all automation at ports – a move that could snare supply chains just a month before the presidential election.

The International Longshoremen's Association union and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents employers in the port industry, were unable to reach a new contract agreement. This is the union's first strike since 1977, when longshoremen stopped work for several weeks.

More than 500 union members gathered outside the gates of the Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, early Tuesday to begin the strike. ILA International President Harold Daggett rallied the crowd as he spoke at one of the major container terminal operators at the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, a key facility for goods entering the New York metropolitan area.

“These greedy corporations got everything they had from us. We’re the ones who got through the pandemic to get them the money they got,” Daggett said in an interview.

When asked how long the strike would last, Daggett said union members would remain on strike “until the end.”

On Monday, the ILA said employers were price-gouging their customers by charging much more for containers, resulting in higher prices for consumers. It said that the wages offered by USMX were still too low to accept.

“The shipping companies represented by USMX want to enjoy the whopping billions in profits they will make in 2024 while offering ILA Longshore workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject,” the union said in a statement. “ILA longshoremen deserve compensation for the important work they do to keep America’s trade moving and growing.”

Scott Weiss, a member of ILA Local 1804-1, inspects containers arriving from ships arriving at the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, as well as the chassis of the trucks that then transport the containers filled with goods to destinations throughout the East Coast .

Weiss said the union is demanding wage increases that can cover the costs of inflation and that even with increasing automation, a human eye is still needed to do the job properly.

“Employers are pushing automation under the guise of safety, but in reality it is about reducing labor costs to increase their already exceptionally high profits. Automating our country’s ports should be a concern for everyone,” he said. “The truth is that robots don’t pay taxes and don’t spend money in their communities.”

The union said it would continue to handle military cargo and serve passenger cruise ships.

The strike is not expected to have a significant impact in Maine because Portland's unionized longshoremen contract primarily with shipping and cruise lines not affected by the strike.

However, if a USMX ship is rerouted to Portland, Jack Humeniuk, Longshoremen's Association representative for New England and former vice president of Local 861, told the Bangor Daily News, “In that case, we would respect the strike.”

Before the strike began, USMX said it had offered a nearly 50% wage increase and an increase in employer contributions to employee retirement plans. USMX said its proposal would continue to maintain the same language regarding automation. The employers filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, accusing the union of not coming to the bargaining table.

“Over the past 24 hours, USMX and ILA have exchanged counteroffers regarding wages. The USMX has increased our offer and also requested an extension of the current framework agreement after both sides abandoned their previous positions. We are confident that this will allow us to fully resume collective bargaining on the other outstanding issues in an effort to reach an agreement,” USMX said in a statement on Monday.

Voters remain focused on the economy ahead of the Nov. 5 election. According to a survey released last month by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, 81 percent of registered voters say the economy is very important to their presidential vote in November.

Lauren Saidel-Baker, a speaker and economist at ITR Economics, a nonpartisan economic research and consulting firm based in New Hampshire, said the longer the strike lasts, the greater the impact on inflation. Inflation cooled so significantly that the Federal Reserve was able to cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point last month.

“If this only lasts a week, there will be short-term disruption again and it may take a little longer for things to get where they need to be. This could pose a risk to perishable goods,” she said.

The supply chain issues that impacted retail prices early in the pandemic may have prepared companies for some disruption, she said, and that could mitigate some of the impact for consumers in the near term.

“We're in a very unique situation where we just had this major supply chain disruption that caused a lot of American companies to create contingency plans in a way that they just hadn't done in the past. We have creativity and increased flexibility that will help us if it is just a short disruption,” she said. “We still have high inventory levels in some sectors, so there may be a little more buffer for certain goods to get where they need to go.”

Aside from the economic impact on consumers, strikes can also impact other groups of workers. If longshoremen receive a strong contract as a result of this strike, it could have implications for other industries. Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, an associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University and a former deputy assistant secretary for research and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Labor, said the success of the auto workers' strikes and the Hollywood strikes may have emboldened union longshoremen.

“I think it's likely that other industries, particularly those most closely tied to transportation and logistics, will really pick up the baton in this regard, particularly if the economic and political environment continues to be favorable to them,” Hertel said – said Fernandez.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called on the Biden administration to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows presidents to intervene in strikes if it creates a national emergency. President Joe Biden has said he has no plans to do so.

Biden's position is unlikely to change, Hertel-Fernandez said, because the timing is political.

“I think if the labor movement did this, it would cause quite a negative reaction,” he said. “Given the election is so close and labor is such an important component for Democrats, it is unlikely they will do this.”