About 45,000 workers begin strike at US ports after breakdown in union talks — Historic strike threatens to shut down ports from Maine to Texas, mangling supply chains and straining the US economy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/01/us-port-workers-strike-ila-union
18 Comments
Excerpts from [article](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/01/us-port-workers-strike-ila-union) by Michael Sainato:
*Some of the busiest ports in the US were braced for crippling disruption after about 45,000 port workers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began walking off the job after their contracts expired at midnight.*
*Workers began striking at 12.01am ET on Tuesday, with 36 ports along the east and Gulf coasts affected. They typically handle about half of the nation’s ocean shipping.*
*Talks over a new contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have broken down, and the union dismissed a last-ditch offer from operators hours before the strike was due to began.*
*The strike – the first by port workers strike on the US east coast since 1977 – threatens to shut down ports from Maine to Texas, mangling supply chains and straining the US economy.*
*[…] Negotiators on both sides have accused the other of refusing to bargain. The ILA has argued that USMX, which represents 40 ocean terminals and port operators, has “low-balled” offers on wage raises for workers and accused it of violating the previous contract by introducing automation at several US ports.*
I can’t find information on what Mathew Leech, Ports America CEO makes or how his compensation has changed since his hiring in 22.
I assume he has gotten more than a $5/hr raise.
Hope this gets sorted soon for everyone’s sake
Good.for.them.
The risk is that a sustained strike will reverse the improvements in inflation and temporarily cripple the economy right before an election, making it all the more likely that Trump gets elected and then when back in office he would force all these folks to return to work anyways, or worse.
>Trump on how to handle striking workers:
>“They go on strike, and you say, ‘That’s OK, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.’”
The rail workersweren’t forced, they were asked. And in the end they did get some of the critical things they were looking for in the negotiating. Don’t act like Biden forced them to not strike and then they got nothing for it because that’s not the case
Just give them what they want, it cannot possibly be worth telling them no at this point
People can we please stop doing dumb shit, in groups, during an election year
I’m a Union guy and a big supporter, but this certainly seems very fishy. Leader of the ILA Harold Daggett has Trump ties and is asking for raises over 60%……
Yes!!! Let’s go labor!!!!
Maybe I’m a conspiracy theorist but is it far fetched that the CEOs/people who need to make a deal with the union, could put this on pause to affect the election and make it seem like the economy is tanked leading to a Trump win because he promises them tax breaks?
Stand strong, Union Brothers and Sisters!
My goodness. Across the entire American economy- pay your damn people more!
I am very pro-labor and respect the union’s right to strike. That said, the real sticking point is automation and I don’t see a way past that obstacle to agreement. The fact is that the union has known for 60 years that the conversion of cargo from boxes to containers would, inevitably, lead to automation. It’s difficult for me to feel bad for union workers who average over $100k a year and refuse to allow automation of a job that can very easily be automated. The union, IMO, has done a poor job of planning for an automated future that they knew was inevitable (see the West Coast union that has allowed automation and still seen job growth AND make more money than East and Gulf Coast workers).
I stand with Union brothers and Sisters
Can’t these fuckin ceos just pay people a living wage for fuck sake. That’s all we want and we get played with. You all make plenty of the money and we just want are cut. I mean we the ones that do all the work
I support unions, but this is one strike I simply can’t support.
>accused it of violating the previous contract by introducing automation at several US ports.
Automation is the future; to stay manual means keeping tech stuck in the 20th century. Putting it into an agreement to ban automation is absurd. Anything that includes that stipulation should be dead on arrival.
In an effort to care for my family during global supply chain threats… what’re the most important things to stock up on?