Thousands of members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) stopped working Tuesday, striking for a substantial compensation increase and protections from automation after years of record profits for the shipping companies that employ them.
But the strike could have major consequences for the U.S. and international economy.
Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University, said the current strike at the East Coast ports will have a “broader impact” than a recent labor action that affected West Coast ports.
“This hurts our ability to export,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Almost 2 out of 3 containers that leave the U.S. go through those eastern ports. The western ports have a lot more incoming, so [labor actions there] are hurting the foreign-owned entities coming in. This one will hurt the exporters, because they won’t be able to send their BMWs from South Carolina over to Europe.”
The National Association of District Export Councils (NADEC) said Tuesday it wants negotiations to resume toward a “win-win settlement.”
“NADEC urges all parties to resume negotiations and reach a win-win settlement that preserves the essential flow of U.S. goods,” the group said in a statement sent to The Hill.
West Coast dockworkers have a separate union from East Coast workers. West Coast longshoremen agreed to a new six-year contract last year that included a 32 percent raise.
The economy is top of mind for American voters ahead of the November election, ranking as the top issue in many different polls.
Vice President Harris is facing significant pressure to sell voters on her approach to the economy, as she and President Biden have trailed former President Trump on that issue, which is the most important one for voters in the upcoming elections, according to various polls.
The Hill’s Tobias Burns has the latest here.
