Some 47,000 port workers across the United States’ East and Gulf coasts went on indefinite strike Tuesday (October 2), threatening significant economic disruption ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, and November’s presidential election. Here is all you need to know. Why have US port workers gone on strike? The strike began after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the port workers’ union, and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), an employer group which represents shipping firms, port associations and marine terminal operators, failed to agree on a new contract for port workers. The previous contract expired on Monday. The ILA has been fighting for a new six-year deal that would see workers get a big pay raise of at least $5 per hour annually, over the course of the contract. Under the previous deal, port workers made between $20 and $39, based on experience. Along with the pay raise, the ILA is also seeking a halt on further automation, which would threaten the port workers’ jobs. The shipping industry’s profits soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, even as inflation hit workers’ salaries. According to ILA Executive Vice President Dennis A Daggett, the union is only asking for what workers are owed. “Throughout the pandemic, longshore workers never took a day off. We ensured the shelves were stocked and the supply chains stayed strong, even as we lost far too many of our own. The very corporations that profited off our hard work refuse to share those profits with the workers who make them possible. If we don’t stand up now, our livelihoods may be lost forever,” he had said last month. The USMX, however, has claimed that the ILA is refusing to bargain in good faith, and has filed a complaint with labour regulators to order the union back to the table. What are some likely impacts of the strike? Experts say that the economic impact of the strike is unlikely to be noticed in the short term. In anticipation of the strike, some importers have fast-tracked the import of many goods over the summer. Others have been diverting shipments to the West Coast. A lengthy strike, however, will see these mitigation measures become ineffective, and potentially usher in chaos in the US economy. “I don’t think we will see immediate, significant economic impacts. but over the course of weeks, if the strike lasts that long, we can begin to see prices rise and for there to be some shortages in goods,” Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University and a former White House adviser on labour issues, told the BBC. A one-week strike would cost the US economy about $2.1 billion, according to an estimate from the economic research firm Anderson Economic Group, CNN reported. Most of this would be in the form of perishable goods like bananas that will not be delivered on time. Transportation companies would lose $400 million, while striking workers and those who might be temporarily laid off would lose $200 million in wages, the analysis said. At least 45 container vessels that have been unable to unload had anchored up outside the strike-stricken East Coast and Gulf Coast ports by Wednesday, up from just three before the strike began on Sunday, Reuters reported. Depending on how long the strike continues, the vessel backlog could double by the end of the week, and the resulting congestion could take weeks, if not months, to clear. Some analysts argue that the strike’s ramifications could go beyond immediate economic disruption. Amidst a major push towards automation of port jobs which would see thousands of relatively high paid workers lose their jobs, the outcome of the strike can set a precedent for future disputes between labour and capital. “Disputes like this can set a precedent for what happens when machines come for all kinds of jobs,” an opinion article in The Washington Post said. How has the White House reacted to the strike? US President Joe Biden has the power to suspend the strike for 80 days, and force workers back to the negotiating table. But the White House has said it will not exercise this option. “No,” Biden told reporters Sunday when asked whether he would intervene in a potential strike. “Because it’s collective bargaining, and I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” he said. The Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 restricts the actions and powers of labour unions. It is under this act that the President can intervene in the strike. But with elections just six weeks ahead, any intervention could prove to be disastrous for the Democrats who will require support from labour to have a chance at victory. As things stand, the President is simply trying to get the two parties to the table, and avoid major economic disruption ahead of the elections. On Monday, Biden directed White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard to convene a meeting with board members of USMX to “urge them to resolve this fairly and quickly — in a way that accounts for the success of these companies in recent years and the invaluable contributions” of ILA workers, a White House official told CNN. The White House has also taken steps to try to examine the impact of a strike and develop plans to address any supply chain issues. That includes convening the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force daily, regularly engaging with ocean carriers, retailers, manufacturers, rail and trucking companies, and closely monitoring government data as an election creeps closer, CNN reported.
