US East Coast ports prepare for strike
Ports on the US East and Gulf Coast are preparing for a shutdown as 85,000 dockworkers are set to walk out on strike in less than 24 hours.
Union International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) was reported by Reuters on Sunday as saying the strike would go ahead from 1 October. "United States Maritime Alliance...refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation," a statement from the ILA said.
The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) represents employers and talks between it and the ILA over a new master contract for dockworker labour broke down in June. The two sides have not returned to the negotiating table since and the current six-year contract expires at the end 30 September.
On 26 September USMX filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and requested immediate injunctive relief – requiring the Union to resume bargaining. The ILA described the move as a “publicity stunt”.
Meanwhile US President Joe Biden has made it clear that the federal government will not intervene to stop industrial action by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act. “It’s collective bargaining. I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” he told reporters, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile ports on the East and Gulf Coast are preparing to stop work at their container terminals. “If there is a work stoppage, Port Houston container terminal gates will be closed,” Port Houston said. The port’s ingate would close at 6pm on 30 September, and reefer acceptance would stop at 5pm, with vessel operations concluding at 7pm.
The Port of Viginia said: “If there is a work stoppage on October 1, The Port of Virginia will begin halting its cargo operations on September 30.” At 1pm all marine operations would cease and vessels would have to sail. Reefer units would remain connected during a work stoppage but not be monitored.
On September 23 the Port of New and New Jersey said, “Export cargo will not be accepted at any of the terminals unless it can be loaded onto a vessel prior to Monday, Sept. 30.
“We expect heavy congestion toward the end of the week and on Monday, Sept. 30 as parties seek to remove containers from the terminal prior to the potential shutdown, so we recommend picking up your containers as early as possible this week and utilizing all available gate hours,” it said.
Meanwhile major container lines including Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM have announced labour disruption surcharges.
With unions saying they will not handle vessels diverted to the US West Coast, and little additional capacity at Mexican and Canadian ports, container vessels bound for East Coast ports are expected to drop anchor and wait out the strike.
Ocean Network Express CEO Jeremy Nixon said last week, “So, the vessels are now on their way to the East Coast will have to sit and wait until that industrial disruption is resolved.”
Earlier this month HSBC Global Research’s latest Global Freight Monitor report noted that US Gulf and East Coast ports accounted for 57% of US imports and 8% of global container trade in 2023. A surge in volumes diverted to US West Coast ports in recent months has seen this share reduce slightly in 2024 to 55.5% of total import volume year-to-date.
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