A port strike that could have crippled the U.S. economy lasted only a few days, as workers have agreed to a new contract.
Transcript:
Conway Gittens: A surprisingly robust monthly employment report is giving the stock market some adrenaline. The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, which was not only better than expected, it was the biggest hiring number since March. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent. And there’s more good news. Wage growth continued to outpace inflation. Average paychecks were 4 percent higher than a year ago.
But, wait – there’s more good news. The massive labor strike at ports stretching from Maine to Texas is over. The biggest labor walkout in nearly half a century ended after the two sides agreed to wage hikes. Workers will reportedly get a 62% raise stretched across six years. That works out to an eventual average hourly wage of $63 up, from $39.
Both sides issued a statement saying that they would extend a contract until January 2025, which allows them time to negotiate other issues. “Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”
One issue which has not been resolved is the role of automation and how many jobs will be lost to technology.
The end of the three-day strike is seen as a win for the Biden-Harris Administration. Vice President Kamala Harris could hardly afford an economically-crippling workers’ strike with less than a month to go before the election. The economy took a $5 billion hit each day of the strike, according to JP Morgan estimates.
However, the work stoppage may be over but the damage could linger. Logistics experts say it will take one week to undue each day of lost activity at the ports.
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