Amid looming strike, Port of Virginia prepares to shut down next week

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The bustling waterfront cargo terminals the Port of Virginia operates in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News could fall silent by Monday night if a deal on a new contract between dockworkers and an alliance representing East coast port operators isn’t reached.

Earlier this week, the state-run port authority revealed it will halt operations by 6 p.m. Sept. 30 if a strike occurs — meaning, nothing in or out. Plans include times for trucks, trains and ships to be off port property.

As part of their preparation, the port is also extending hours this coming weekend in an effort to handle as much cargo as possible before the longshoreman’s current contract expires.

Roughly 45,000 workers will be walking off the job between Maine and Texas if the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance don’t come to agreement by Oct. 1.

Thousands more jobs remain hanging in the balance.

In his State of the Port speech this year, Port of Virginia CEO Stephen Edwards said 565,000 jobs are connected to port operations in Virginia.

George Berry holds one of those jobs as a trucking agent with Chesapeake-based Pioneer Transport. He’s not a member of the longshoremen union, but directly benefits from their work. Berry helps to oversee five to six trucks that pick up containers at the port to take them to their next destination.

“This our bread and butter,” Berry said. “This is how we make a living every day. It’s bringing goods and services to Hampton Roads and the region alike.”

He’s worried about what will happen if wheels stop turning next week. When wheels aren’t turning, nobody is getting paid.

“We as truckers, we’re sort of the pawn in this situation,” Berry said. “We don’t really have a seat at the table when it comes to the bargaining and negotiation of these these contracts. So, if we’re told that the port is closed, there is pretty much nothing else that we can do in terms of hauling containers at that point.”

Vinod Agarwal, an economist with Old Dominion University, said its the people like Berry who will be most impacted by a potential strike in the short term.

“I would say that is where most of the damage is going to be,” Agarwal said. “I don’t think… a person on the streets really needs to be concerned about a strike at this time. There is no need to stock up anything.”

But that is given the strike lasts a few days. A strike that persists for more than a month could be a different story.

“Then its effects are going to be felt in the other sector of the economy,” Agarwal said. “It’ll start effecting the suppliers, start effecting the manufacturers.”

The longshoremen’s union is demanding higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container movements that are used in the loading of freights at the 36 U.S. ports covered under the contract.

The Port of Virginia is the sixth largest containerized cargo complex in the country, according to the authority. A recently expanded central rail yard that allows for cargo to be transported by rail farther, more efficiently , also relies heavily on robots.

Not unlike truckers, the port itself is not directly involved in negotiations.

“Our hope is that both parties return to negotiations and reach a mutually beneficial agreement that allows for the resumption of operations,” the Port of Virginia said in a statement on its website, “once an agreement has been reached, The Port of Virginia will implement its resumption of operations plan and methodically and safely bring terminals back online.”

Berry hopes that is sooner than later.

“My message is that I hope there’s a quick resolution to this and that work continues to stay open because it is a, is a artery, a main artery, an economic engine in our area and Hampton Roads,” Berry said.

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