President Biden on Tuesday night stood by longshoremen's unions and pressed U.S. port employers to offer them “fair contracts” ahead of the second day of a historic port strike.
About 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen's Association walked off the job Tuesday and picketed at ports stretching from Maine to Texas, fighting for new contracts to include higher wages and protections from automation.
“Foreign shipping companies have made record profits since the pandemic, when longshore workers put themselves at risk to keep our ports open,” Biden said in a post on X.
“It's time for these shipping companies to offer strong and fair contracts that reflect ILA workers' contributions to our economy and their record profits.”
Analysts have warned that the strike could cost the economy billions of dollars a day, disrupting shipments of food, cars, medicine and other goods.
The White House said Biden directed his team to monitor potential price gouging practices that benefit foreign shipping companies.
Retailers, auto suppliers and agricultural importers want Biden to implement the federal Taft-Hartley Act, which allows the president to establish an 80-day cooling-off period to force employees to return to work during certain labor disputes. I was expecting.
Republican Reps. Sam Graves and Daniel Webster, both chairs of the Transportation Committee; Biden on Tuesday called for the Taft-Hartley Act to be invoked..
But those hopes were dashed on Monday when Biden said: He “doesn't believe” in Taft Hartley.
Harold Daggett, the fiercely outspoken union boss leading the strike, scoffed at the idea in an interview in early September.
“Do you think those guys will go to work on that pier when I go back for 90 days?” Daggett said.
The United Maritime Union had offered the union a 50% pay increase in the new six-year contract, but Daggett said the union is seeking an even higher increase.
Daggett, who collected $728,000 in compensation from ILA last year, said the union is seeking a $5-an-hour raise in each year of the six-year contract and a promise to ban automation.
“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, stay on strike for any length of time, and get the wages and automation protections that ILA members deserve,” Daggett said Tuesday.
The mass picketing marks the ILA's first major strike since 1977.
The strike took place in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, which caused severe damage to southeastern states, and ahead of the holiday season.
According to Morgan Stanley, about half of all imports from the United States arrive via water.
Analysts at JPMorgan estimate that if the strike continues, it could be devastating to the U.S. economy, potentially costing up to $5 billion a day.
Congested ports could cause supply chain disruptions, food shortages and price hikes similar to the economic disruption seen during the pandemic.
