The Wage Committee of the International Longshoremen’s Association has indicated that unless demands relating to wages and benefits are met, the Union will call a strike commencing October 1st. This action involving ports along the East and Gulf coasts and Puerto Rico would impact nearly half of all U.S. imports and would be damaging to the economy. The White House has indicated that it will not intervenr directly at this time.
Apart from the effect on the economy, the timing of the proposed strike has political implications. In the unlikely event that the Administration forces the union to work under the Taft-Hartley Act, workers would initiate a slow down with adherence to work-to-rule. A Union negotiator Harold Daggett threatens strike and slow-down action unless the United States Martime Alliance, representing port ownership negotiates in good faith and agrees to a new contract. A spokesperson for the Administration noted that collective bargaining is necessary to resolve the impasse and that there was no intention to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to break a strike as has occurred on 40 occasions since the law was enacted.
The ports involved handle 74,000 shipping containers each day with an estimated cargo value of $3.7 billion. It is estimated that a strike of even a single day would require five days to clear containers. A one-week strike in October would disrupt imports prior to the Christmas period with congestion persisting through mid-November.
The National Retail Federation urges the Administration to work with the Union and the Martime Alliance to reach agreement on a new contract. The National Association of Manufacturers noted, “Any disruption resulting from the United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association will deal an immediate blow to the manufacturing supply chain. Cost will rise and manufacturing jobs will be lost if parts and supplies do not arrive on time.” A thirty-day strike along the East and Gulf coast ports would cost in excess of $1.3 billion per day affecting both exports and imports. A strike would have an inflationary effect on imported goods and the effect on reduced supply would increase cost to consumers of domestically produced items.