Strike would shut down East Coast ports, including NC’s Wilmington, Morehead City

The N.C. State Ports Authority is bracing for a strike that could shut ports all along the East and Gulf Coasts next week and hobble the country’s import/export economy.

A contract between port operators and the International Longshoremen’s Association expires Tuesday, Sept. 30, and the union has threatened to strike if a deal isn’t made by then.

ILA members work at both of North Carolina’s deep-water ports, in Wilmington and Morehead City, and N.C. Ports says it will “recognize any and all work stoppages.” It has told shippers that in the event of a strike, no imported container cargo will be received or delivered from the port.

“All vessels must complete work, and vacate the berth at the Port of Wilmington by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 30,” N.C. Ports wrote in a contingency plan shared with customers.

The ports will accept cargo for export at least through next week, though it won’t be loaded onto ships.

The work stoppage will not affect the Charlotte Inland Port , a rail yard and staging area for ocean cargo moving to and from the Port of Wilmington.

The two deep-water ports handle about 1,000 ships a year, moving more than 4 million tons of general cargo and more than 320,000 TEUs or 20-foot container units, the industry’s standard measurement. The Port of Wilmington has three 14-story cranes capable of loading and unloading the largest containerships to call on the East Coast.

N.C. Ports employs 250 non-union workers at the three ports. It says those whose work is affected by a strike would be temporarily assigned to other jobs.

Contract negotiations appear stalled

The ILA union members contract is with The United States Maritime Alliance or USMX , an organization that represents container carriers and port operators along the East and Gulf Coasts. USMX claims the ILA has refused to bargain over a new contract and filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday, asking it to order the union to meet.

“We remain prepared to bargain at any time,” USMX said in a statement. “But both sides must come to the table if we are going to reach a deal, and there is no indication that the ILA is interested in negotiating at this time.”

But the ILA and USMX have communicated, says Harold Daggett, the union’s president and chief negotiator. Daggett says USMX knows what the union’s rank-and-file will support, and said blame for the strike would rest with the organization.

“They call me several times each week trying to get the ILA to accept a low-ball wage package,” Daggett wrote Monday. “My ILA members are not going to accept these insulting offers that are a joke considering the work my ILA longshore workers perform, and the billion dollar profits the companies make off the backs of their labor.”

Details about the negotiations have not been made public, though Daggett said USMX had offered a $5 per hour annual wage increase over six years, an average annual increase of about 10%.

“My ILA rank-and file membership are just as good in math as any of the companies,” Daggett wrote. “They are well aware of the profits made by the companies they work for and are even more motivated to hit the streets on October 1st if they don’t get the kind of wage increases they firmly believe they deserve.”

Shipping companies and their customers have been aware of the looming strike deadline for months. Some have re-routed cargo to West Coast ports, where unions agreed to a new contract last year , or moved up their shipments before the deadline.

The strike “could push the container trade into chaos,” according to Christian Roeloffs, co-founder and CEO of Container xChange, a global shipping container company based in Germany .

“The congestion and delays at these major ports will severely impact the availability of containers, increase costs and disrupt schedules,” Roeloffs wrote in an advisory to customers Thursday. “Businesses are acting now to reroute shipments and secure their container supply, or they risk being left stranded in a congested and costly aftermath.”

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