Longshoremen and longshoremen at East Coast ports are currently striking in a major labor action with real implications for the U.S. and international economy.
Thousands of members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) stopped working on Tuesday, demanding huge pay increases and cuts from automation after the shipping companies that employ them have posted record profits for years. They went on strike for protection.
The strike also poses a political hurdle for President Biden, who has supported the ILA and the collective bargaining process despite pressure to freeze the strike.
Here are five things to know about the strike.
Longshoremen want better pay and automation protection
At issue in the negotiations is a wage and compensation package from the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), the consortium that operates the Eastern and Gulf ports, which the union has so far rejected.
“While the ocean-going shipping companies represented by USMX want to enjoy billions of dollars in rich profits in 2024, they are offering unacceptable wage packages to ILA longshore workers. We reject this,” the ILA said in a statement on Monday.
President Biden criticized the extraordinary profitability of port operators in a statement Monday.
“Ocean carriers have posted record profits since the pandemic, with profits in some cases increasing by more than 800% compared to pre-pandemic profits,” the president said in a statement Tuesday.
Post-pandemic corporate profits have generally been at record highs following a series of government stimulus measures, with profits now almost the highest as a share of the economy's value since the 1930s.
Automation is a big issue for coastal workers as well as for workers in a variety of industries who have recently taken labor action.
“For those same naive people who think this, I have news for you.” [automation is] That’s a good thing,” ILA member Jack Pennington wrote in a blog post Monday.
“The Big Three automakers are using robotic welders, painters, upholsterers, mechanics, and , assembly machines, and countless other robots, I ask you this question: Did it reduce the cost of cars? The answer is simple, 'No!' he wrote.
USMX on Monday proposed an increase in compensation but said it wanted to maintain the current contract language regarding automation.
“Our proposal increases wages by nearly 50%, triples employer contributions to employee retirement plans, enhances health care options, and maintains current language on automation and semi-automation,” USMX said in a statement. It's what you do,” he said.
Weeks-long strike could hit the economy hard
Labor and business experts told The Hill that the cost of the strike could reach up to $5 billion per day.
Both exports and imports are likely to be affected by the strike, but labor experts told The Hill they specifically highlighted the economic impact on U.S. exports.
Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University, said the strike will have a “broader impact” than recent labor actions affecting West Coast ports.
“This will have a negative impact on our export capacity,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Almost two out of every three containers that leave the U.S. go through these eastern ports. Western ports have more coming into them; [labor actions there] “This will be a blow to exporters because they won't be able to send BMWs from South Carolina to Europe.”
The National Association of District Export Councils (NADEC) said on Tuesday it hoped to restart negotiations towards a “win-win solution”.
“NADEC urges all parties to resume negotiations and reach a win-win settlement that preserves the critical flow of U.S. products,” the group said in a statement to The Hill.
Longshoremen on the West Coast have a separate union from those on the East Coast. Longshoremen on the West Coast signed new six-year contracts last year that included a 32% pay increase.
The economy is a top concern for American voters ahead of the November election, ranking as the top issue in various opinion polls.
Polls show Vice President Harris and President Biden trailing former President Donald Trump on the issue that matters most to voters in the upcoming election, with Vice President Harris facing significant pressure to sell her approach to the economy to voters. exposed to
Strike puts Biden in trouble with labor
Biden has embraced labor unions and organized labor, as most presidents have done, and last year became the first to do so, joining an active picket line for the United Auto Workers (UAW). became the president of
The summer of 2023, informally known as the “Summer of Strikes,” included a series of high-profile work stoppages across industries, and the White House sent out a number of messages to coincide with the activities.
Biden issued a statement Tuesday encouraging collective bargaining and supporting workers' rights.
“Collective bargaining is the best way for workers to get the wages and benefits they deserve. “We urge them to come to the table and make a fair offer to ensure they are compensated appropriately.”
However, the economic impact of the East Coast port strike is global, affecting trade and policy planning decisions in many countries that are difficult to coordinate, potentially forcing legal action from the White House. There is.
Taft Hartley Options
Such legal action could invoke the Industrial Relations Act of 1947 (also known as the Taft-Hartley Act), which aims to curb the power of labor unions. Biden doesn't want to use Taft-Hartley, but said it's an option for him.
“Collective bargaining is happening, but I don't believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said Monday.
Taft-Hartley operates when the president declares a national economic emergency, and while negotiations continue, there is a legal process to order workers in existing unions to return to work. Begins. If the worker refuses, it can be legally replaced under U.S. labor law.
Cornell University's Arthur Wheaton said a similar process occurred with air traffic controllers during the Reagan administration, but said Taft-Hartley was never formally used. Wheaton warned that replacing skilled, unionized labor with unskilled labor is not a good idea.
“Taft Hartley halted a decade of remarkable progress for workers, tamed the militancy of unions, and set the stage for the long decline of the American labor movement, whose effects we are still feeling today. Jonathan Kissam, communications director for the labor organization UE, said in an article. History articles for 2022.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday encouraged Biden not to subpoena Taft-Hartley.
“President Biden is right. Taft-Hartley should not be invoked to end the port strike. Longshoremen are striking against corporate greed. The shipping industry has lost 400 billion yen since 2020. It's time for longshoremen to be treated with respect, not contempt,” he wrote online.
Strike follows major union victory
The summer strikes resulted in major victories for unions ranging from the United Auto Workers (UAW) to the Teamsters and SAG-AFTRA.
UPS Teamsters described their pay increases as “historic” in a recent report Announcement of contract ratification.
“Existing full-time and part-time UPS Teamsters will receive a $2.75 hourly wage increase in 2023. Wage increases total to $7.50 an hour over the life of the contract,” the union said.
The UAW won an end to the graduated wage system that divided workers doing the same job at the same facility. economics,” the American Bar Association wrote in a paper. Transaction summary In January.
