After a contract between operators of port terminals and the International Longshoremen’s Association, which includes workers who load and unload cargo ships at three dozen ports, expired on Monday, thousands of unionized dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts went on strike Tuesday morning, reported the New York Times.
The strike stranded cargo and sent ripples through supply chains for consumer goods and manufacturing parts, wrote the Times. The International Longshoremen’s Association union represents roughly 45,000 workers. The reason for the strike, said the Times, is the port operators’ group, the United States Maritime Alliance, and the union remain at an “impasse over wage increases.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “The strike at these ports will not impact crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, and other liquid fuel exports and imports, as such operations are handled by other workers.”
According to The Washington Post, fresh produce, including bananas; imported alcohol; and automobiles are among the products most affected.
In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Virginia Business reported: “The immediate impact was felt at the Port of Virginia’s terminals, where no cargo is moving in or out of the port during the walkout.”
Virginia Business also reported that according to the port, there are no cargo operations taking place at Norfolk International Terminals, Virginia International Gateway, or Newport News Marine Terminal, which are currently closed. However, employees of the Virginia Port Authority and its operating company, Virginia International Terminals, are still at work.
President Biden said that he was not planning to invoke a nearly 80-year-old law to force dockworkers back to work. It is the first such walkout at these ports since 1977.
“Cruise ship operations are unaffected by the strike and military shipments will continue. Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said on Monday that around 100,000 containers would be stored at the port during the strike and that 35 ships arriving over the next week would be anchored offshore,” according to the Times.