Dockworkers Strike on East and Gulf Coasts Ends for Now; Received National, Local Support

U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down this week when the ILA, which represents about 45,000 dockworkers — the largest union of maritime workers in North America — went on strike for the first time since 1977, but the strike was suspended Thursday afternoon until January 2025.

“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues,” said a joint statement from the two entities.

“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”

Workers with the International Longshoreman’s Association began walking picket lines early Tuesday near ports all along the East and Gulf coasts.

The union was demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships.

The previous contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired Tuesday.

Affiliated unions had issued statements of support — including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which has a chapter, Local 29, in San Diego.

“Brothers and sisters, on behalf of all the members of the ILWU, from Alaska to San Diego, British Columbia, and most definitely from the Islands of Hawaii, the ILWU stand with the ILA,” said the ILWU’s national president in a statement.

“Let one elected official stand between the working men and women of the docks in North America and see what happens…. The ILWU stands with you Brothers and Sisters. SOLIDARITY!”

“We always back up our international statements,” said a member of ILWU Local 29, which represents San Diego’s marine clerks and longshore workers, who asked to remain anonymous.

There were previously signs of movement in the talks, with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, saying that both sides have moved from their initial wage offers.

But on Wednesday, the alliance called on the International Longshoremen’s Union to come to the bargaining table. “We cannot agree to preconditions to return to bargaining, but we remain committed to bargaining in good faith,” the group said in a statement.

Late Wednesday night, the ILA said that Harold Daggett, its president, and other union officers, had received death threats since the strike began. The union said the threats were reported to police.

The union’s opening demand was a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with Daggett saying that it would make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

On Monday, before workers hit the picket lines, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.

While any port can handle any type of goods, some ports are specialized to handle goods for a particular industry. The ports affected by the shutdown include Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia, the top two busiest auto ports; Philadelphia, which gives priority to fruits and vegetables; and New Orleans, which handles coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, and wood products from Asia and South America.

Other major ports affected include Boston; New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Houston.

The Biden administration could potentially intervene if a strike is deemed a danger to U.S. economic health under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which would seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would effectively suspend the strike.

But during an exchange with reporters last Sunday, President Joe Biden said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene.

“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said.

If the strike is resolved within a few weeks, consumers probably wouldn’t notice any significant shortages or price hikes. But a work stoppage that persists for more than a month could be a different story, depending on what you’re shopping for. Most holiday retail goods have already arrived from overseas, so there is a buffer. Prices on everything from fruits and vegetables to cars may head higher, at least temporarily, if the strike drags on.

Container loads of highly perishable bananas are stuck at some ports, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Thursday that it will be hard to retrieve them due to the strike.

Biden has urged shipping companies in particular to try harder to resolve the dispute, he said.

“That’s the most effective way of getting the bananas to wherever they need to go. And hopefully the shippers will come to the table,” Vilsack said. “The union will come to the table. Collective bargaining will work, and we’ll get this resolved quickly.”

Limiting the duration of this strike is the key to preventing shortages and higher prices, Vilsack said.

“Our assessment is if this lasts a couple of weeks, we’re not talking about a significant disruption,” he said. “If you get into months, then obviously that’s a different situation.”

Since the major supply chain disruption in 2021, retailers have adapted to supply chain disrupters being the new norm, said Rick Haase, owner of a mini-chain of Patina gift shops in and around the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

“The best approach for Patina has been to secure orders early and have the goods in our warehouse and back rooms to ensure we are in stock on key goods,” Haase said.

Still, housing those goods for longer can have an inflationary impact at the register because retailers will need to recoup those storage costs, or absorb them.

Rising uncertainty over the supply chain arrives at the peak of the holiday shipping season for retailers, which traditionally runs from July through early November. Many big retailers, anticipating a strike, started shipping goods to U.S. distribution centers in June, and Gold said the majority of those products are already in the U.S.

Yet on top of the cost of storing goods for longer, retailers will have a hard time replenishing their inventory should the strike drag on.

Toy companies had already diverted many shipments through Los Angeles in anticipation of a strike, and inventories at stores right now are healthy, said Greg Ahearn, who leads The Toy Association, the nation’s leading toy trade group. He said Wednesday that the strike becomes more problematic with time, specifically in satisfying demand for popular toys as Christmas approaches.

As much as 60% of annual sales for toy companies occur during the current quarter, Ahearn said.

“The longer this goes on, the higher probability that toys that parents and caregivers want for their children will be scarce and with scarcity comes the potential for higher prices,” he said.

A shutdown that lasts more than a few weeks has the potential to raise prices and create shortages of goods throughout the country as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he thought progress was being made in ending the strike. Asked how much, Biden said “We’ll find out soon.”

Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was updated Oct. 3, 2024 at 4:39 p.m. to reflect the suspension of the strike until January 2025.