Washington.-Stevedores at 14 major US ports went on strike early Tuesday morning after the failure of last-minute negotiations between their union and the Maritime Alliance over pay issues.
More than a hundred longshoremen gathered in various areas of the port of New York and New Jersey as part of a general strike to demand an increase in their salaries and a stop to the automation of their work.
This complex is one of the main components of the Port of New York and New Jersey, which stands as the largest on the East Coast of the United States and the third in the country by volume of cargo handled.
Tens of thousands of longshoremen in 14 large ports in the eastern United States and in the Gulf of Mexico are part of this strike, derived from the lack of an agreement between the union and the USMX (US Maritime Alliance) employers’ association. The protests are mainly directed against projects to automate part of their tasks.
Negotiations between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents employers, and the ILA union “are stalled,” he assured.
The union announced that it “closed (activities at) all ports from Maine to Texas at 12:01 AM on Tuesday.”
“We are willing to fight as long as it takes (…) to get the wages and protections against automation (of work) that our ILA members deserve,” union president Harold Daggett said in a statement on Tuesday.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, urged employers and unions to “sit at the table and negotiate in good faith, fairly and quickly,” the White House reported.
The conflict represents a great challenge for the government, and especially for Vice President Kamala Harris, who aspires to succeed Biden, as both seek to cement a favorable image for unions before the presidential election in November.
Until now the president has ruled out federal intervention in this context of tension.
On Monday night, the two sides announced that they had resumed negotiations, which began in May and stalled over wages and work automation.
Stevedores protest this Tuesday on a dock in Port Elizabeth, in the Maher terminal, part of the port of New York. Photo EFEEStevedores protest this Tuesday on a dock in Port Elizabeth, in the Maher terminal, part of the port of New York. Photo EFE
“In the last 24 hours, the USMX and the ILA have exchanged counteroffers on salaries,” the Maritime Alliance said in a statement, ensuring that it had “improved” its proposal and requested an extension of the current labor agreement to continue negotiating.
According to a source close to the talks, that proposal mentioned by the Alliance was rejected by the union on Monday.
For its part, the longshoremen’s union has 85,000 members throughout the United States, including workers in seaports, rivers and lakes.
Oxford Economics estimates that the strike will cost the US economy between $4.5 billion and $7.5 billion per week. The full impact depends on the duration of the strike, its analysts said.
The transportation of hydrocarbons and agricultural products, and even cruise ships, should not be too affected.
This is the ILA’s first major strike since 1977. This year there have been major strikes by workers at automobile manufacturing plants, and at Boeing, over pay and working conditions.
In this case, the collective agreement reaches about 25,000 unionized workers in ILA in large ports such as New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Savannah, New Orleans or Houston.
«We work during covid. We never stopped. “We made it possible for the world to continue functioning,” recalled Jonita Carter, who has worked in ports for 23 years. “With automation we will lose our jobs.”
Carter was part of a 200-person demonstration in front of Maher Terminals, one of the most important sites in Port Elizabeth, the large port of New York/New Jersey.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday that port authorities were trying to release as much cargo as possible before the stoppage.
Other terminals such as New Orleans, Louisiana or Savannah, offered overtime in recent days to speed up the circulation of merchandise.
The union demands protection against job losses linked to process automation, and calls for wage increases for dockers.
Press reports indicate that ILA is asking for a 77% salary increase in seven years.
USMX indicated on Monday that its latest offer would have “increased salaries by nearly 50%, tripled employer contributions to retirement plans, and strengthened health plans.”
A port strike “would paralyze U.S. trade and raise prices at a time when consumers and businesses are beginning to feel relief from inflation,” said Erin McLaughlin, an economist at the Conference Board, a nonprofit that researches the activity. commercial.
«There is no easy alternative. Shipowners have already begun to route some cargoes to the west coast, but the capacity of this option is limited,” the expert warned.
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