Strike at US ports: Workers strike – 10/01/2024 – Market

Port workers on the Gulf Coast of the United States and the East Coast of the country went on strike this Tuesday (1st), stopping services in at least 36 ports. This is the first major shutdown in nearly 50 years, halting the flow of about half of U.S. shipping after negotiations for a new labor contract collapsed over the pay issue.

The strike blocks the transportation of everything from food to cars at dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, in a strike that, according to analysts, will cost the economy around US$5 billion (R$27.32 billion) a day, it will threaten jobs and potentially drive inflation.

The ILA union (International Longshoremen’s Association), which represents 45,000 port workers, is negotiating with the employers’ group USMX (United States Maritime Alliance) a new six-year contract ahead of schedule. late September 30th at midnight.

The ILA said in a statement on Tuesday that it closed all ports from Maine to Texas at 00:01 local time and rejected USMX’s final proposal made on Monday (30), adding that the offer fell “far short of demands of its members to ratify a new contract”.

ILA leader Harold Daggett said employers have not offered adequate pay rises or agreed to demands to halt port automation projects. USMX said in a statement on Monday that it had offered a pay increase of nearly 50%, up from a previous proposal.

“We are prepared to fight as long as it takes, to stay on strike as long as it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation that our members deserve,” Daggett said Tuesday.

“The USMX owns this strike now. Now they need to meet our demands for the strike to end.”

USMX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

36 PORTS REACHED

The strike, the ILA’s first since 1977, is worrying companies that rely on shipping to export their products or secure crucial imports, as it affects 36 ports that move a range of containerized goods.

In recent months, retailers have been ramping up holiday imports to mitigate the problem and are shifting other shipments to the U.S. West Coast whenever possible.

There are about 100,000 containers waiting to be unloaded at the New York City ports alone, now paralyzed by the strike, and 35 container ships bound for New York next week, said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York. York and New Jersey.

The dispute is also putting US President Joe Biden, who favors labor action, in a virtually no-win position, as Vice President Kamala Harris is in a tight electoral race against former Republican President Donald Trump. .

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and top economic adviser Lael Brainard asked USMX board members in a meeting on Monday to resolve the dispute fairly and quickly, a White House official said . But the government has repeatedly ruled out using federal powers to break the strike.

The White House said Tuesday in a statement that it is monitoring the effects on the supply chain “and evaluating ways to address potential impacts,” noting that the initial effect on consumers should be limited.