Why are longshoremen going on strike?
The International Longshoremen’s Association, representing some 47,000 port workers, has been unable to reach a deal on a new labor contract in talks with an alliance representing shippers and port operators. The union is seeking significant raises and guarantees that automated technology won’t be used to replace human workers.
The union’s leaders say longshoremen deserve a fair share of the hundreds of billions in profits that shippers have made in recent years and have accused the management alliance of making lowball wage offers. The negotiations broke down in June and the two sides have barely been speaking. Managers, represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance, have urged the union to continue talking. The current contract expires at midnight Monday, allowing the longshoremen to go on strike.
How will a strike affect the economy?
The 14 major ports covered by the union contract account for just over half of the nation’s container trade, a major part of the supply chains that connect the country to the global economy. But a strike won’t lead to an immediate economic calamity, analysts say.
Major importers like big retail chains have been preparing for a strike for months, moving shipments earlier in the year, so analysts don’t expect there will be shortages on the shelves or price hikes in the short term. But the longer a strike lasts, the more severe the impact will become for regular consumers. Even a brief work stoppage could prove disruptive as ports have to dig their way out of any backlog — analysts’ rule of thumb is that each day the strike lasts will translate to five days of disruptions.
Can’t shippers just use ports on the West Coast? What won’t be affected?
Workers at West Coast ports belong to a separate union, which reached a six-year contract deal last year — securing raises of 32 percent — so they will not be joining the strike. Some shipments have been diverted to the West Coast, but analysts say there’s limited capacity at West Coast ports to pick up more goods once a strike begins. West Coast workers, in a display of solidarity, may refuse to handle goods diverted from the East Coast.
Oil and gas terminals have their work crews and would not be affected by the strike. The longshoremen union has said it would continue to move military cargo and handle cruise ships, so as not to disrupt people’s long-planned vacations.
How long is a strike expected to last?
It’s not clear how long workers would be on strike. Some analysts expect that the White House will eventually be forced to intervene as the economic and political impacts grow as the presidential election nears. President Joe Biden could seek to send the parties back to the negotiating table, and the longshoremen back to work, using powers in a 1947 law called Taft-Hartley.
Yet in the weeks leading up to a strike, administration officials said the president had no intention of taking that step, which would conflict with Biden’s pro-union image. But once a strike becomes a reality, calls from business groups and Republicans in Congress to find a resolution would be certain to intensify.
A strike would begin just weeks before a presidential election in which the economy and inflation are major issues. Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump will probably face questions about their stance on the walkout.
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Source: The Washington Post
