Workers at ports on the United States’ Eastern and Gulf coasts took strike action on October 1, halting shipping operations and disrupting supply chains, following a breakdown in negotiations between their union, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and international shipping company bosses.
The strike ended after three days, when a tentative deal was reached that includes a 62% wage rise over the six-year life of the contract. For dock workers, this translates into a rise in average wages from $39 an hour to about $63 an hour.
The ILA initially sought a 77% wage increase. The bosses — represented by the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) — initially offered 50%, before the compromise was reached. Both parties agreed to extend the master contract until January 15 and to return to the bargaining table to resolve outstanding issues.
The tentative deal needs to be ratified by rank-and-file ILA members before it can take effect. But with ships unable to come into port to unload and load goods, the union agreed to return to work on October 4.
Should ILA members vote against the deal, the strike may be back on.
The strike, which involved about 45,000 ILA members across 36 ports, was the most significant strike the union has taken since 1977.
The day before the strike began, the ILA said: “The Ocean Carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits … while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package”.
The union said their members “deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing”, and slammed “foreign-owned shipping companies” for making “billion-dollar profits at [US] ports” then “tak[ing] those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates”, while “workers continue to be crippled by inflation” due to the shipping bosses’ “unfair wage packages”.
The union also condemned shipping companies for “gouging their customers”, which result in “increased costs to American consumers”.
Prices for a full container rose to $30,000, up from $6,000 in the weeks before the strike.
“They are killing the customers.”
Dock workers on the West Coast remained at work, as they are represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which settled a new contract with shipping bosses last year.
The Biden administration applauded the settlement and had pushed both sides to end the strike.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein gave full support to the strike, saying: “When workers stand up for their worth it uplifts all working people. The corrupt duopoly of war and Wall Street have rigged the economy against workers.
“Over the past 50 years, real wages have stagnated while corporate profits have skyrocketed. Soaring inflation, fueled by corporate greed, has driven up the cost of living, far surpassing any modest wage gains working people have won.”
Key unresolved issues include the use of automation and artificial intelligence, which the union fears will lead to job losses.
Under the expired contract, port operators were permitted to use “semi-automated” technology but not equipment “devoid of human interaction”. The bosses offered in recent talks to carry that commitment into a new contract.