A port strike that shut down multiple maritime points of entry along the eastern seaboard of America for several days this week has ended after the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) capitulated to union demands and tentatively agreed to a significant pay boost.
According to Reuters, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) agreed to go back to work after winning a roughly 62-percent increase in wages, with pay slated to go from the current $39 per hour to $62 per hour by 2030.
Union workers began their port strike on Tuesday, October 1st, and continued it through Thursday, costing the economy about $5 billion per day. The Longshoremen’s union represents approximately 45,000 workers, so the port strike shut down a large number of ports, totaling 36 along the U.S. East Coast.
Under the leadership of Harold Daggett, the ILA rejected the first offer from the USMX, which the latter says was “a nearly 50-percent wage increase” and was intended to help in “addressing inflation and recognizing the ILA’s hard work to keep the global economy running.” Daggett said the deal had to include not only larger wage increases, but “protections against automation” as well.
Image credit: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The ports are open again with the cessation of the port strike, but a backlog of container ships accumulated off the entry points nevertheless, with at least 54 ships awaiting unloading. Dock are covered in stacks of containers, and more container vessels are continuing to arrive. The bottleneck is expected to take up to three weeks to clear even with the ILA back at work in full strength.
Peter Sand, the chief analyst at Xeneta, says the union workers will need to “work extra hard to run down the congestion before supply chains are re-running.” The U.S. is so dependent on foreign imports that the aftermath of the port strike is expected to affect everything from food prices to availability of components to automakers like GM across the country.
The National Retail Federation remarked that the sooner the ILA union and the Maritime Alliance “reach a (final) deal, the better for all American families.” In the meantime, however, shipping stocks also took a beating in late-week trading, with various publicly traded oceanic freight concerns in the U.S., Europe and Asia seeing the value of their shares falling anywhere from 1.8 percent to 12.4 percent in response to the situation.
Comments
Fake news.
The agreement happened because Ron Desantis told them to pound sand and if they wouldn’t stop holding the country hostage he would use the guard to free up the ports.
G od Bless Ron Desantis! These thugs who make more than your average surgeon don’t deserve another dime. Per my understanding they are going back to work under the current contract and will debate in December a deal with the 66% increase.
Union thuggery at it worst!
The higher the wage goes, the more the union makes in member dues. Plus a higher tax bracket for some.
ALWAYS follow the money, it never lies!!
Union boss spoke to the public like we were uninterested bystanders, instead of the victim of his thuggery. Companies merely pass the cost onto consumers. He vowed to cripple the economy and in turn every worker in the country.
Looks like they’ve timed the next extortion program to right around inauguration time.
Good news for toilet paper users everywhere!