The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) failed to negotiate a new labor agreement before the Oct. 1 deadline despite last-minute movement in negotiations that broke months of stalemate. 

ILA President Harold Daggett joined union members outside Maher Terminal in Port Elizabeth, N.J., to kick off the union’s first strike since 1977, highlighting workers’ demands for higher wages and protection from automation of their jobs. 

“We are now demanding $5 an hour increase in wages for each of the six years of a new ILA-USMX Master Contract,” said Daggett. “Plus, we want absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and we are demanding all Container Royalty monies go to the ILA.” 

The USMX said Monday evening that it had “traded counteroffers related to wages” with the ILA, the first sign of movement since negotiations broke down in June over an automated gate at a port in Mobile, Ala. 

The USMX also said it had asked the union to extend the agreement ahead of the deadline. 

President Biden has made clear he will not intervene to stop the strike, even in the face of pressure from business and industry groups who are worried about the economic impact of the strike. 

Many retailers front-loaded shipments or diverted shipping through the West Coast in anticipation of the strike. But while consumers may feel a minimal pinch on the front end, such as a shortage of bananas in the coming weeks, businesses are bracing for a strike with no clear end. 

There is a wide range of estimates for how much the strike will cost the U.S. economy each day — anywhere from several hundred million dollars a day to nearly $5 billion.  

Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have pressed Biden to minimize the economic impact by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act, a 1947 law that would allow the president to request an 80-day court-ordered “cooling off” period to give the parties more time to negotiate. 

Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien issued a statement of solidarity with the ILA on Monday evening, saying, “The U.S. government should stay the f‑‑k out of this fight and allow union workers to withhold their labor for the wages and benefits they have earned.” 

Biden seemed inclined to hold his ground Tuesday, calling on the USMX to give longshoremen a “meaningful increase” in wages, but making no specific mention of the automation at the heart of the labor dispute. 

The Hill’s Taylor Giorno has more here.