Businesses across the U.S. are preparing for a major port strike along the East Coast that could cost the economy $5 billion a day.
Port workers who handle half of the ocean shipments in the U.S. are set to go on strike October 1, potentially halting container shipments from Maine south to the Gulf of Mexico. The strike action comes after contract negotiations broke down between the International Longshoremen’s Association union that represents 45,000 port workers and the United States Maritime Alliance group that represents employers.
The current contract between the two groups expires on September 30, and collective bargaining between the two sides has come to a standstill over the issue of pay raises. If the port workers walk off the job, it will be the first coastal strike in the U.S. since 1977. No further negotiations between the two sides are planned, making a strike all but certain at this point.
Impacting Everything from Food to Vehicles
The pending strike along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. is expected to impact shipments of everything from food to motor vehicles. The cost of the strike has been estimated at $5 billion a day, and some economists have warned that it could stoke inflation should it drag on for several weeks or months.
Several business groups are urging the union and employer group to return to the bargaining table and avoid a potentially devastating shutdown of America’s ports. Business groups have also been lobbying U.S. President Joe Biden to intervene and prevent a work stoppage at the ports. However, Biden, who is pro-labor, has said that he does not intend to intervene to prevent a strike if dockworkers fail to reach a new collective agreement at the bargaining table.
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