September 30, 2024
At the stroke of midnight about 45,000 union members at 14 ports across the East and Gulf coasts from Maine to Texas are expected to go on strike. And no matter where you live – this strike will likely impact your everyday life and your wallet. You may want to stock up on your favorite beer, wine and liquor…I’ll explain why in a second.
First what’s happening? The International Longshoremen’s Association – which is the union for port and dock workers has been in contract negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance – which represents these ports and mostly international shippers – for months. The union says their dock and port workers are opposed to fully automated practices at ports, that would eventually leave their members without a job and they say their workers deserve a pay raise especially because of what the ILA describes as huge profits these shipping companies are raking in. The ILA says those companies “want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA longshore workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject.”
Well these negotiations have broken down and as a result, the United States Maritime Alliance filed an unfair labor practice charge against the ILA with the national labor relations board. Basically they said the ILA was not negotiating in good faith. The maritime alliance says “we value the work of the ILA and have great respect for its members. We have a shared history of working together and are committed to bargaining.”
But there is no bargaining happening right now and if there is no deal by midnight, as I said those 45,000 longshoremen will walk off the job. The longshoremen who work on the west coast are not directly involved in this strike.
So what does this strike mean for you.
Well these 45,000 longshoremen work at the ports that handle about half of the imports and exports the united states deals with on any given day. I’m talking about everything from bananas to cars to wine and beer. So if they’re off the job – that means all the stuff that usually comes into or out of the United States through those big shipping containers through those ports will at best be delayed and at worst just won’t arrive or will just sit in the ports and will not be distributed.
Now in anticipation of this strike –for the last few months — lots of this cargo has been rerouted to the west coast where the longshoremen are still on the job. But there’s a downside to that too because pretty soon, there’s going to be a backup on the west coast too with all these extra ships and cargo which will likely delay things even further.
And here’s the thing – delays cost money. Not just for these shipping companies but for you and me. Remember – a breakdown in the supply chain – which is what this would be – was one of the major factors in skyrocketing inflation during and after the pandemic.
Depending on how long this strike lasts, you may also see prices increasing because certain goods could become scarce. The American farm bureau estimates a strike of this magnitude for agriculture imports alone for just one week could cost more than $1.4 billion dollars. And a one week strike of agriculture exports would cost about $320 million. The American Farm Bureau says these ports handle more than 75% of banana imports, 90% of imported cherries, 85% of canned food, and 80% of chocolate. And these particular ports handle 80% of imported beer, wine, whiskey and scotch as well as 60% of rum imports.
So – if you have a favorite imported beer, wine or liquor, you may want to pick it up while it’s still on the store shelf.
Read more from the ILA here.
Read more from the USMX here.
Read more from the American Farm Bureau here.
