The US is bracing for potential disruptions at its major seaports for the second consecutive year as labor tensions escalate.
Harold Daggett, leader of the union representing dockworkers at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, has warned that time is running out to finalize a new labor agreement before the contract expires on September 30.
Daggett said that a strike “is becoming more likely.”
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), representing almost 45,000 workers at ports from Maine to Texas, unexpectedly withdrew from negotiations in June due to a dispute over automation.
No new talks have been scheduled.
Initially, shipping industry executives viewed Daggett’s strike warnings as a negotiating tactic.
However, some are now contemplating the potential duration of a strike rather than its likelihood.
An October strike would largely impact major ports, including those in New York and New Jersey, Virginia, and Savannah, Georgia, during the peak holiday shipping season.
This timing would also pose a political challenge for President Biden, as it occurs just five weeks before the presidential election.
Last summer, Biden administration officials were crucial in brokering a deal in longshore labor talks on the West Coast.
It had been stalled for over a year and disrupted operations in California and Washington state.
“You made millions and billions of dollars in the last five, six years off the sweat of our backs”
However, the ILA has explicitly stated it does not want any interference, including from the Biden administration, in its current negotiations.
To reach an agreement, the union and shipping executives must resolve several local port-specific issues and a significant disparity in wage demands.
Daggett is reportedly seeking a substantially higher pay increase than the 32 percent raise secured by West Coast dockworkers over six years.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, ocean carriers amassed billions in profits due to soaring shipping rates.
At an ILA convention last summer, Daggett said: “You made millions and billions of dollars in the last five, six years off the sweat of our backs.
“Don’t come back and say we can’t afford that kind of raise.”
The ILA’s departure from the June negotiations stemmed from discovering that a container-handling terminal at Alabama’s Port of Mobile used automated equipment to process trucks.
Although Mobile is a relatively minor port, the dispute has escalated into a broader conflict threatening trade between Maine and Texas ports.
The ILA claims the use of automation technology at Mobile and potentially other ports violates the master contract despite the technology being in operation since 2008.
