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Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas go on strike, a standoff risking new shortages
The strike affecting 36 ports is the first by the union since 1977. The strike will likely have an almost immediate impact on supplies of perishable imports like bananas, for example.
apnews.com
As of midnight, the first ILA strike since 1977 has begun. Affecting 36 ports of entry, effectively shutting down all ports on the east coast from Maine all the way down and around to Texas on the gulf side.
For ports like Baltimore, this is a critical blow to the industry that has barely scratched the surface in its recovery efforts after the Key Bridge collapse. For ports elsewhere in the southeast, I can only assume this is going to complicate recovery efforts from the most recent hurricane. For the rest of y’all? Check your order status. If your items are coming from or through any of those docks, you’re likely going to see a delay.
Beyond potential Day 1 impacts, we could also see the prices of certain imported goods rise. For example, Domino Sugar brings a metric fuckton of sugar into the Port of Baltimore as well as through ports in Philadelphia and New York where they have other processing facilities. Expect sugar prices to rise as stockpiles dwindle, because us Americans love our sugar and Domino is one of the largest refiners in the country.
Longshoremen from stevedores through truckers were prepared for the strike for some time now, but were still optimistic to see a deal struck. With the strike in place, we’ll see a choke on resources until the union members get their requests… which includes an increase in wages, optimized contracts, and insurance that automation won’t take more jobs than it has already been utilized for.
Anyone know any dockworkers? The few that I’m friends with have been pretty open about their dissatisfaction, but they didn’t expect to be on the picket lines, especially after the hits the ports have taken in recent years. They fully expected compensation to be increased, and for their demands to be met, despite chatter from local union leaders that it could, in fact, result in a strike. It’s gotta be rough to show up to work and find out that the only thing you’re gonna be doing today is holding up a sign, when your position is critical to damn near every industry imaginable from agriculture to medicine.
