Traffic at East and Gulf Coast ports is set to plummet thanks to a looming strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association. The union says its 45,000 port workers are ready to launch a massive strike that will likely halt operations at 36 ports.
The port workers are demanding better pay and benefits as well as guarantees that automated machinery won’t replace their jobs. If the ILA doesn’t reach an agreement with the US Maritime Alliance, the group representing employers, its members will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.
A strike would impact nearly half of all US sea-borne imports and as much as 68% of containerized exports — everything from seafood, electronics, and pharmaceuticals, to cars and parts, and even some fruits.
Joe Biden could use the Taft-Hartley Act to intervene in the labor dispute. “Invoking the act might prove enticing to protect national and economic security,” says Jeremy Slater, a trade and supply chains expert at Eurasia Group. But Biden is unlikely to do so in this case, Slater says, “because it essentially undercuts labor rights by forcing negotiations and prohibiting collective striking – not great optics for a pro-labor administration.”
“The knock-on effects from a disruption would compound with every day offline, with a two-week strike necessitating recovery efforts into 2025 by some estimates,” Slater warns.
We’ll be watching for an 11th-hour deal – or gridlock at US ports.