45,000 port workers on the East Coast will go on strike at midnight on Tuesday

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – About 45,000 East Coast longshoremen are planning a midnight strike after negotiations between the US Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen's Association stalled.

According to a report, negotiations between the maritime alliance and union representatives were initially suspended on June 11 following disputes over automation at the port of Mobile, Alabama ILA press release.

Two main points that ILA leadership is pushing for in a new framework agreement are a better wage package and protections against automation.

Both sides failed to reach an agreement before the USMX-ILA framework agreement with the ILA expired on September 30, calling the maritime alliance's pay package “unacceptable.” September 23rd release.

USMX has since filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit against the union, accusing the ILA of not coming to the table to negotiate.

ILA Local 1422, which represents longshore workers in Charleston, wrote in a statement that despite union members' tireless work during the pandemic, employers are still refusing to pay workers fairly.

“It’s not us versus them. “It’s basically about what’s right and what’s fair,” Marquette Mapp, a member of ILA Local 1422, said at a rally Monday. “This is long overdue. We never stopped working during the pandemic. We are essential workers.”

The union claimed that recent wage increases failed to cover inflation costs despite rising revenues for companies using the ports.

“The ILA fights for respect, appreciation and fairness in a world where companies are determined to replace hard-working people with automation,” ILA Local 1422 wrote in a statement.

Possible economic impact of a work interruption

The ILA last went on strike in 1977. That strike lasted 57 days and was resolved when the Carriers Container Council and the ILA reached an agreement to transfer the Job Security Program to 36 ports on the East Coast, the USMX website says.

After decades of successful master contract negotiations between the Maritime Alliance and the union, workers are now back where they were in the late 1970s, when widespread work stoppages threatened dozens of East Coast ports.

“We’ll just take it one day at a time. I want to say to the community, hold us up in prayer,” said Charles Brave, president of ILA Local 1422. “We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t really necessary.”

The ports contribute $86.7 billion to South Carolina's economy each year. a 2023 SC Ports Economic Impact Report Written by research economist Joseph Von Nessen.

Von Nessen says the ports may be South Carolina's most important competitive advantage.

“Any type of delay in shipping will pose challenges to any industry that relies on imports or exports,” says Von Nessen. “It is difficult to speculate, but all parties have the incentive to resolve the issue quickly because no one wants to see delays or uncertainty in shipping.”

Von Nessen points out that South Carolina's advanced manufacturing industry is an area that relies heavily on the ports to support its operations.

South Carolina's manufacturing sector is a key driver of its economic growth, the Port Authority's 2023 report says.

Approximately 95% of the state's import and export activities are enabled by the manufacturing industry.

“When we look at advanced manufacturing, this has been the primary industry that has driven growth in South Carolina over the last decade, and that would not have been possible without the support of South Carolina’s ports,” Von Nessen says.

Calls for federal intervention

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with dozens of trade organizations, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to work with both sides to avoid disruptions at the ports.

“The only way to resolve these issues is for the parties to return to the negotiating table and actually negotiate the new contract,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote. “We encourage the administration to fully support the parties in their negotiations so that they can reach a final agreement before the expiration of the current contract.”

Kent Gourdin is director of the College of Charleston's Global Logistics and Transportation Program. Gourdin says Biden could bring about a temporary end to the strike by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.

To do so, Biden would have to seek a court order to grant a mandatory 80-day cooling-off period and temporarily return ILA members to work.

“At some point he would almost have to do that because it would just be too destructive to the economy,” Gourdin said.

A domino effect on logistics and transport

Gourdin said he doesn't think consumers would immediately feel the widespread impact of a port strike because many retailers store large amounts of inventory in warehouses.

But he says if the strike goes on long enough, it could take a while for everything to return to normal.

“It’s just a completely integrated system,” Gourdin says. “Everything is based on this whole seamless flow: ships and ports and trucking companies and rail. If one of them breaks, the whole thing fails.”

He says one industry that could be particularly affected by the strike is the automotive industry in South Carolina.

The 2023 SC Ports report states that South Carolina has been the nation's largest exporter of finished passenger vehicles for nine consecutive years.

Gourdin says the ports receive two trains a day from Greer's BMW factory, which would then have nowhere to go if the ports were unable to export cargo.

“Any company that exports to some extent through the port will feel the effects of the crisis at some point,” says Gourdin.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, released the following statement Monday afternoon:

At least 100 Americans have died, millions have been without power, and flooding continues to devastate homes and communities in the wake of Hurricane Helene. I am calling on members of the International Longshoremen's Association to temporarily continue to work under their current contracts until the suffering from the storm has subsided. As Americans, it is our duty to provide access to shelter, food, water and electricity to those in need. A strike would significantly disrupt our supply chain and economy and only compound the pain of those who have already lost everything.

The South Carolina Ports Authority declined a request for comment on the strike.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.