02/10/24
US dockworkers, shippers strike positions entrenched
New York, 2 October (Argus) — The US dockworker strike gripping east coast and
Gulf coast container terminals may not be short-lived given the wide gap between
union demands and the offer from an alliance of containership owners, terminal
operators and port associations. The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) said
its latest proposal for a 50pc wage increase, made on 30 September just before
the strike started, "exceeds every other recent union settlement while
addressing inflation". But the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA)
rebuked USMX's characterization of the offer late Tuesday, saying it fails to
address the many years it takes for the port workers it represents to realize
the higher wages, and factors like workers being on unpaid on-call status. The
last-minute timing of the 50pc wage increase offer itself undermines the USMX's
position as good faith negotiators, ILA said. "[The] USMX's claim that they are
ready to bargain rings hollow when they waited until the eve of the potential
strike to present this offer," the ILA said. "The last offer from [the] USMX was
back in February 2023." Dockworkers started to picket container terminals in New
England, New York, New Jersey, Houston, Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, and other
locations on 1 October . Containership loading and unloading has come to a halt
at those terminals, while no trucks where queued at unmanned loading
checkpoints. The union has pointed to a perceived unfairness in record profits
reported by shipping companies since the Covid-19 pandemic not being shared with
ILA members who were "keeping ports open and the economy moving" during that
time. The union is also sticking to demands for no new automation technology at
US ports that would replace workers, describing this position as
"non-negotiable", and the right to 100pc of the "container royalties" funds, a
type of welfare paid out by employers to protect US longshoremen from the loss
of work brought on by the containerization of cargo. No fed intervention
expected US president Joe Biden continued to indicate the federal government
would not intervene in the strike, saying collective bargaining between the ILA
and the USMX is the best way for workers to achieve their goals. In a statement
this week Biden also pointed out that the USMX "represents a group of
foreign-owned [ocean] carriers" and insisted that they should "present a fair
offer" to the ILA. "It is time for [the] USMX to negotiate a fair contract with
the longshoremen that reflects the substantial contribution they've been making
to our economic comeback," Biden said. Vice-president Kamala Harris, who is
running to replace Biden, doubled-down on that position today. "This strike is
about fairness," Harris said in a statement. "Foreign-owned shipping companies
have made record profits and executive compensation has grown. The Longshoremen,
who play a vital role transporting essential goods across America, deserve a
fair share of these record profits." Few commodities curtailed for now Ports and
the companies that rely on them have been anticipating the strike for many weeks
. Movements of dry bulk cargo, such as coal and grains, are expected to be less
affected by the work stoppage, though there could be side effects from the
congestion of other products being rerouted to ports not affected by the strike.
Movement of crude, refined products and many petrochemicals are not expected to
be interrupted, but some polymers that are moved by container, including
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP), could be
disrupted. A segment of US steel imports could also be disrupted by the strike,
as about 9pc of those imports come in via containers , according to data from
Global Trade Tracker. A prolonged strike could begin to curtail some downstream
manufacturing of equipment that requires parts that move by containers. By Ross
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