Major Longshoremen Strike Hits East Coast Ports

LOADINGERROR LOADINGThousands of dock workers at ports along the East and Gulf coasts went on strike early Tuesday morning amid a contract dispute, halting the flow of goods with a potentially costly work stoppage.Their union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, failed to reach a new six-year agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance, the group representing employers at ports from Maine to Texas.Workers walked off the job just as their previous contract expired.Advertisement It’s unclear how long the strike will last and how expensive it will be, but a prolonged shutdown could deal a significant blow to the economy since the workers who handle shipping containers control major commercial choke points.The showdown also presents a political problem for President Joe Biden, who has the power to suspend the strike.

Doing so would take away workers’ leverage and could hurt the union-friendly president’s relationship with organized labor.“These people today don’t know what a strike is....

In today’s world, I’ll cripple you.I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means.”- Harold Daggett, ILA presidentThe ILA has been pushing for significant raises in its next contract.

Members currently top out at a $39-per-hour\ base wage, and the union has been calling for a $5 raise in each year of the next agreement, or $30 over the full duration.The ILA also wants protections against automation at ports that it said would destroy jobs.Advertisement Harold J.

Daggett, the union’s president, has accused the Maritime Alliance of making “lowball” and “insulting” proposals that members couldn’t accept and said the blame for a strike would fall “squarely on the shoulders” of employers.He also said the ILA wouldn’t hesitate to snarl commerce, predicting that car dealers, malls and construction firms would have to lay people off because they weren’t receiving goods and materials.“These people today don’t kno...