The US economy is poised to lose billions of dollars a day starting Tuesday as a potentially crippling strike threatens nearly half of the nation’s busiest ports if longshoremen and management fail to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents some 85,000 dockworkers at ports along the East and Gulf coasts, is scheduled to walk off the job after the clock strikes midnight early Tuesday.
The ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents shipping lines, terminal operators and port authorities, have until the end of the day Monday to make a deal that would avert a work stoppage.
But the two sides haven’t met since June and there are no negotiations scheduled before the contract expires.
The strike would affect all 36 ports stretching from Maine to Texas. It would be the first work stoppage due to a labor dispute at the ports since 1977.
Economic analysts said that while companies have already priced in a work stoppage that would last a few days, the bigger danger is a prolonged strike.
The union is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and moving containers in the loading and unloading of freight.
“The biggest concern will be if there is any type of prolonged strike and how that could affect the supply of goods and the prices for holiday season,” Ted Jenkin, a business consultant and co-founder of Atlanta-based oXYGen Financial, told The Post.
With the holiday season coming up, a strike that extends from days into weeks and potentially months could end up costing shoppers at the checkout counter.
“A prolonged strike will absolutely force companies to pay shippers for the delays making goods much more costly and make them arrive late for the high point of the holiday season,” Jenkin said.
“A few days won’t be that significant because big retail chains have been preparing for a strike for months, but a month would be a devastating blow for holiday time.”
A work stoppage at the ports will impact goods such as bananas, European beer, furniture, clothing, European cars and parts that are needed to keep factories running.
A strike would also put a halt to exports, preventing US companies from selling their goods abroad.
Jason Fisk, CEO of Los Angeles-based SalSon Logistics, told The Post that the strike will cost the economy an estimated $3.7 billion per day.
Fisk said importers have taken measures to mitigate the risks, but American consumers can expect “additional surcharges” because longer shipping routes “could inflate consumer prices, particularly in sensitive sectors like luxury goods and automobiles.”
On Friday, top Biden administration officials met with port operators and told them they should negotiate with the union ahead of Tuesday, according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing meeting.
“ILA unity remains strong and is growing,” James McNamara, spokesman for the union, said in a statement Sunday.
The Toy Association, the nation’s leading toy trade group, was among about 200 organizations that asked President Biden in a letter this month to work with both sides to reach an agreement.
The National Grain and Feed Association also urged Biden to take action to avert a strike, which would come just as harvest season gets underway.
With Post wires
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