New York, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 1st Oct, 2024) Tens of thousands of workers at major ports on the US East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday in action that could drag on the world’s largest economy just ahead of the November presidential election.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) said the walkout was the first “coast wide strike in almost 50 years.”
The shutdown would halt shipments at 36 ports, impacting an array of goods from food to electronics and potentially costing the US economy billions of Dollars a week.
“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve,” Harold Daggett, who heads the 85,000-member union, said in a statement.
The strike presents a thorny challenge to the White House and Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, as both seek to bolster a pro-union image while preventing any economic fallout so close to the election.
President Joe Biden has ruled out Federal intervention, but business lobbies are sure to amplify calls for action if the strike drags out.
Biden and Harris are “closely monitoring” the strike, the White House said, with both briefed on government assessments that “impacts on consumers are expected to be limited at this time.
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“The president has directed his team to convey his message directly to both sides that they need to be at the table and negotiating in good faith-fairly and quickly,” it added.
The ILA said it had “shut down all ports from Maine to Texas at 12:01 am on Tuesday” after it rejected a final proposal from the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) shipping group.
USMX did not respond to a request for comment.
ILA members began picketing at 14 major ports on the East and Gulf coasts soon after the announcement.
In Boston, dockworkers marched to the port carrying signs that read “no work without a fair contract,” videos shared on social media showed.
A possible stoppage had been telegraphed for months, with the odds rising in recent weeks as the two sides described themselves as far apart.
USMX said on Monday it was “hopeful” after the two sides exchanged counter-offers.
However, there was still no deal when the six-year contract expired at midnight.
Oxford Economics estimated that the strike would dent US gross domestic product by $4.5 billion to $7.5 billion per week. The overall economic hit depends on the length of the strike, analysts say.
