BusinessOctober 1, 2024

Dockworkers from Maine to Texas strike over wages and automation, risking supply chain disruptions and potential shortages if prolonged. The standoff impacts 36 ports and could cost the economy billions daily.

TOM KRISHER and TASSANEE VEJPONGSA, Associated Press
Striking Philadelphia longshoremen picket outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Striking Philadelphia longshoremen picket outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boise Butler, president of Local 1291, with an American flag on his wheelchair, pickets with his fellow longshoremen outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Boise Butler, president of Local 1291, with an American flag on his wheelchair, pickets with his fellow longshoremen outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
The International Longshoremen’s Association flag and an American flag fly together outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port as workers prepare to strike as their contract runs out at midnight, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
The International Longshoremen’s Association flag and an American flag fly together outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port as workers prepare to strike as their contract runs out at midnight, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, speaks to the press outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, speaks to the press outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boise Butler, president of Local 1291, chants along with his fellow longshoremen outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Boise Butler, president of Local 1291, chants along with his fellow longshoremen outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia longshoremen assembled outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port begin to strike as their contract runs out at midnight, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Philadelphia longshoremen assembled outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port begin to strike as their contract runs out at midnight, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia longshoremen assembled outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port begin to strike as their contract runs out at midnight, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Philadelphia longshoremen assembled outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port begin to strike as their contract runs out at midnight, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, speaks to the press outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, speaks to the press outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia longshoremen hang the flag of the International Longshoremen's Association on a fence outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port, preparing to strike, as their contract runs out at midnight, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Philadelphia longshoremen hang the flag of the International Longshoremen's Association on a fence outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port, preparing to strike, as their contract runs out at midnight, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, speaks to the press outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)
Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, speaks to the press outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Collerd)ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Shipping containers are stacked in the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J., May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - Shipping containers are stacked in the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J., May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - In this photo provided by the Georgia Ports Authority, Griff Lynch, President and CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority, provides an update on the Port of Savannah's progress and future trajectory to 1,200 leaders from the maritime, supply chain, business and political sectors Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, during the annual State of the Port event in Savannah, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton/Georgia Ports Authority via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Georgia Ports Authority, Griff Lynch, President and CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority, provides an update on the Port of Savannah's progress and future trajectory to 1,200 leaders from the maritime, supply chain, business and political sectors Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, during the annual State of the Port event in Savannah, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton/Georgia Ports Authority via AP, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Containers are moved at the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J., on June 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - Containers are moved at the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J., on June 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.

The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike. The strike affecting 36 ports is the first by the union since 1977.

Workers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight, walking in a circle at a rail crossing outside the port and chanting “No work without a fair contract.”

The union had message boards on the side of a truck reading: “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands For Job Protection.”

At Port Houston, which is in the Central time zone an hour behind the East Coast, at least 50 workers gathered outside the port with signs saying “No Work Without a Fair Contract." They appeared poised to begin picketing. Workers showed a statement from the ILA on the strike saying that employers have refused to compensate workers fairly.

“The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation and fairness in a world in which corporations are dead set on replacing hard-working people with automation,” the statement said. “Robots do not pay taxes and they do not spend money in their communities.”

The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers, but when picket lines went up just after midnight, it was apparent that no deal had been reached.

The union’s opening offer in the talks was for a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with President Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

But Monday evening, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The union wants a complete ban on automation. It wasn’t clear just how far apart both sides are.

“We are hopeful that this could allow us to fully resume collective bargaining around the other outstanding issues in an effort to reach an agreement,” the alliance statement said.

The union didn’t answer requests for comment on the talks Monday night, but said earlier in the day that the ports had refused demands for a fair contract and the alliance seemed intent on a strike. The two sides had not held formal negotiations since June.

The alliance said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.

The Port of Virginia spent Monday preparing for the work stoppage and said on its website early Tuesday that the strike had begun.

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“As a result of the expiration of the master agreement between United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association, there is a work stoppage at the Port of Virginia and other ports along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts,” the website said.

Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see an immediate impact from the strike because most retailers stocked up on goods, moving ahead shipments of holiday gift items.

But if it goes more than a few weeks, a work stoppage would significantly snarl the nation’s supply chain, potentially leading to higher prices and delays in goods reaching households and businesses.

If drawn out, the strike will force businesses to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for peak holiday shopping season — potentially impacting delivery of anything from toys or artificial Christmas trees to cars, coffee and fruit.

The strike will likely have an almost immediate impact on supplies of perishable imports like bananas, for example. The ports affected by the strike handle 3.8 million metric tons of bananas each year, or 75% of the nation’s supply, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

It also could snarl exports from East Coast ports and create traffic jams at ports on the West Coast, where workers are represented by a different union. Railroads say they can ramp up to carry more freight from the West Coast, but analysts say they can’t make up the cargo handled to the east.

“If the strikes go ahead, they will cause enormous delays across the supply chain, a ripple effect which will no doubt roll into 2025 and cause chaos across the industry,” noted Jay Dhokia, founder of supply chain management and logistics firm Pro3PL.

J.P. Morgan estimated that a strike that shuts down East and Gulf coast ports could cost the economy $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion per day, with some of that recovered over time after normal operations resume.

The strike comes just weeks before the presidential election and could become a factor if there are shortages. Retailers, auto parts suppliers and produce importers had hoped for a settlement or that President Joe Biden would intervene and end the strike using the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows him to seek an 80-day cooling off period.

But during an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden, who has worked to court union votes for Democrats, said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene in the potential work stoppage.

A White House official said Monday that at Biden’s direction, the administration has been in regular communication with the ILA and the alliance to keep the negotiations moving forward. The president directed Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard to convene the alliance’s board members Monday afternoon and urge them to resolve the dispute fairly and quickly — in a way that accounts for the success of shipping companies in recent years and contributions of union workers.

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Krisher in reported from Detroit. Associated Press journalists Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, Mae Anderson and Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Josh Boak in Washington, and Annie Mulligan in Houston contributed to this report.

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