Around 45,000 dockworkers have gone on strike in the US causing significant shipping disruption to over 30 East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union strike, the first in nearly 50 years, is demanding a $5 per hour increase in wages for each year of a six-year agreement.
The union is also demanding no automation or semi-automation and is calling for all container royalty funds to be retained for union members.
The ILA intends for the demonstrations to continue around the clock, 24/7, for as long as it takes for United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to meet the demands of its members.
The strike has blocked goods from food to automobile shipments and analysts warn it will cost the economy billions of dollars a day.
Alongside the demands for wage increases, ILA President Harold Daggett says members want to see “absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation”.
US President Joe Biden is backing the strike and is calling for USMX, which represents a group of foreign-owned carriers, to come to the table and “present a fair offer” to the union workers.
“Ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic and in some cases profits grew in excess of 800% compared to their profits prior to the pandemic.
“Executive compensation has grown in line with those profits and profits have been returned to shareholders at record rates.
“It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well,” Biden says.
In a statement from the USMX, the organisation says its current offer of a nearly 50% wage increase exceeds every other recent union settlement.
“Our industry directly supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States and is a significant economic driver for the US economy and families across the country.
“USMX is proud of the wages and benefits we offer to our 25,000 ILA employees, and strongly supports a collective bargaining process that allows us to fully bargain wages, benefits, technology, and ensures the safety of our workers, day-in and day-out.
“We have demonstrated a commitment to doing our part to end the completely avoidable ILA strike.
“We look forward to hearing from the union about how we can return to the table and actually bargain, which is the only way to reach a resolution,” USMX says.
