US East Coast dockworkers head toward strike after deal deadline passes
ILA strike, is first such strike by the union since 1977
Strike could cost the economy an estimated $5 billion a day
Strike disputes include pay, terminal automation project issues
By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) -Dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast were expected to strike on Tuesday morning after a midnight deadline passed with no sign of a new contract deal with port owners. The strike is forecast to halt about half the nation's ocean shipping.
The strike will block everything from food to automobile shipments across dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, in a disruption analysts warned will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs, and stoke inflation.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union representing 45,000 port workers had been negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group for a new six-year contract ahead of a midnight Sept. 30 deadline.
But the ILA's fiery leader, Harold Daggett, said employers like container ship operator Maersk MAERSKb.CO and its APM Terminals North America had not offered appropriate wage increases or agreed to demands to stop port automation projects. The USMX said in a statement on Monday it had offered to hike wages by nearly 50%.
The ILA said in statements on Sunday and Monday that a port strike would go ahead, starting on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. ET.
The strike, the ILA's first since 1977, is worrying businesses across the economy that rely on ocean shipping to export their wares or secure crucial imports. The strike affects 36 ports that handle a range of containerized goods from bananas to clothing to cars.
The union is "holding the entire country over a barrel," said Steve Hughes, CEO of HCS International, which specializes in automotive sourcing and shipping. "I'm really afraid that it is going to be ugly."
The dispute is also wedging labor-friendly U.S. President Joe Biden into a virtual no-win position as Vice President Kamala Harris runs a razor-tight election race against Republican former President Donald Trump.
Biden administration officials had met with both USMX and ILA ahead of the strike to encourage a deal. But Biden's administration has repeatedly ruled out the use of federal powers to break a strike in the event of an impasse.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark urged Biden on Monday to reconsider, saying it "would be unconscionable to allow a contract dispute to inflict such a shock to our economy."
Retailers accounting for about half of all container shipping volume have been busily implementing backup plans as they head into their all-important winter holiday sales season.
Many of the big players rushed in Halloween and Christmas merchandise early to avoid any strike-related disruptions, incurring extra costs to ship and store those goods.
Retail behemoth Walmart WMT.N, the largest U.S. container shipper, and membership warehouse club operator Costco COST.O say they are doing everything they can to mitigate any impact.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday the state expects no immediate impact on food suppliers or essential goods.
Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Richard Chang
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
