US East Coast port strike set to start Tuesday, says union By Reuters

By David Shepardson and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A port strike on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico will go forward beginning on Tuesday, the Worldwide Longshoremen’s Affiliation union mentioned on Sunday, signaling motion that might trigger delays and snarl provide chains.

“United States Maritime Alliance … refuses to handle a half-century of wage subjugation,” the union mentioned in an announcement. America Maritime Alliance, often called USMX, represents employers of the East and Gulf Coast longshore business.

USMX didn’t instantly remark.

If union members stroll off the job at ports stretching from Maine to Texas, it might be the primary coast-wide ILA strike since 1977, affecting ports that deal with about half the nation’s ocean delivery.

A supply mentioned no negotiations had been happening Sunday and none are at present deliberate earlier than the midnight Monday deadline. The union mentioned beforehand the strike wouldn’t influence army cargo shipments or cruise ship visitors.

White Home spokesperson Robyn Patterson mentioned late Sunday that over the weekend, senior officers have been in contact with USMX representatives “urging them to return to a good settlement pretty and shortly – one which displays the success of the businesses.” The officers additionally delivered the identical message to ILA, she added.

Earlier on Sunday, President Joe Biden mentioned he didn’t intend to intervene to forestall a walkout if dock staff did not safe a brand new contract by an Oct. 1 deadline.

“It is collective bargaining. I do not imagine in Taft-Hartley,” he informed reporters. Presidents can intervene in labor disputes that threaten nationwide safety or security by imposing an 80-day cooling-off interval beneath the federal Taft-Hartley Act.

Reuters first reported on Sept. 17 that Biden didn’t plan to invoke the Taft-Hartley provision, citing a White Home official.

A strike may cease the circulation of all the pieces from meals to cars at main ports – in a dispute that might jeopardize jobs and stoke inflation weeks forward of the U.S. presidential election. 

Enterprise Roundtable, which represents main U.S. enterprise leaders, mentioned it was “deeply involved in regards to the potential strike on the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.”

The group warned a labor stoppage may value the U.S. economic system billions of {dollars} every day “hurting American companies, staff and shoppers throughout the nation. We urge either side to return to an settlement earlier than Monday evening’s deadline.”

For months, the union has threatened to close down the 36 ports it covers if employers like container ship operator Maersk and its APM Terminals North America don’t ship vital wage will increase and cease terminal automation tasks.

The dispute is worrying companies that depend on ocean delivery to export their wares, or safe essential imports.

The USMX employer group has accused the ILA of refusing to barter.