Dockworkers Strike, Risking Serious Damage to the Economy

This is an update to yesterday’s story warning of the potential strike.

Unionized dockworkers at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports went on strike early Tuesday. They reached an impasse in negotiations over a new contract with a group representing port employers.

The sticking point appears to be the automation that is taking away jobs.

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday. The strike is over wages and automation. If it lasts more than a few weeks, it could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods.

The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight. Progress was reported in talks on Monday,  but the workers went on strike anyway.

Workers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight, chanting, “No work without a fair contract.”

Negotiations between the ILA and USMX have been deadlocked thus far over the union’s wage hikes and compensation demands. They also want protection from automation at ports.

The ILA has said it will exempt cruise ships and military cargoes from the strike. They will continue to handle those to prevent disruptions to travelers’ schedules and for the sake of national security.

USMX reportedly made a new offer to the ILA on Monday afternoon. It raised wages by nearly 50% over the new contract. It would have tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and better health care. However, the language about automation was kept in the deal. Sources told FOX Business that the ILA rejected the offer and didn’t make a counter.

There will be serious supply and demand issues and potential inflation in an already inflationary environment. It will only take a week or two for it to hurt the economy.

Details in the Original Story Posted Monday

Ports up and down the East Coast and along the Gulf Coast will shut down tonight at midnight if a labor agreement isn’t made between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance.

This last happened in 1977. JP Morgan said it could cost our already stressed economy $5 billion a day.

Cargo ship loaded in New York container terminal at night viewed from Elizabeth NJ across Elizabethport reach.

USA Today: The strike could hit 36 ports that handle about one-half of U.S. ocean imports. That could affect availability of a range of goods from bananas to clothing to cars shipped via container, while creating weeks-long backlogs at ports. It could also stoke shipping cost increases that may be passed on to voters already frustrated with housing and food inflation.

This is as a hurricane has seriously damaged the South.

According to logistic experts, this strike at these 14 ports “will seriously damage the functioning of the U.S. economy.”

It will cause inflated prices to rise as ships seek more distant ports.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who are notably uninvolved in the disastrous aftermath of the hurricane, will say and do nothing. That is what they do. It is what they did in Afghanistan.

THE COST

CNBC reports that based on data from ImportGenius, which tracks the bills of lading — the digital receipts of cargo containers — a total of 54,456 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) arrived on Friday at the 14 ports operating under the master contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) which expires at midnight Monday. The approximate value of that freight was upward of $2.7 billion, based on an MDS Transmodal estimate of $50,000 per container. For the weekdays between Sept. 23-27, a total of 273,417 TEUs were imputed through customs at these ports with a value of approximately $13.67 billion.

Alan Baer, CEO of OL USA, said the enormity of the freight volumes arriving Friday alone shows the scramble logistics companies are in to get the containers off the dock by close of business Monday. “Importers, in coordination with their logistic partners, should try to clear as many of their containers off open terminals where possible to avoid possible delays in acquiring their inventory,” said Baer.

On average, it takes one week to clear out one day of a port closure. As much as 43% to 49% of total containerized goods entering the U.S are processed through ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast.

Michael Kanko, CEO of ImportGenius, tells CNBC the economic importance of the ports impacted by an ILA strike is profound. “As our data shows, a strike of even a week will block the flow of hundreds of thousands of containers into the U.S.,” he said. “These ports are also a major gateway into the U.S. for refrigerated produce. Time isn’t on the side of importers.”

THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION WILL DO NOTHING

The ILA is North America’s largest longshoremen’s union. It represents dockworkers and maritime workers and blames the USMX for the stalemate.

Joe Biden could stop this. He only cares about the election and won’t go against the Longshoremen. He said it openly, which was another stupid move among so many. Kamala-Harris never do anything.

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