(New York, NY) — Dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. are on strike as of midnight Tuesday, in what is the first large-scale work stoppage in nearly 50 years.
Dockworkers have halted the flow of about half the nation’s ocean shipping after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down over wages and terminal automation. Analysts warn the disruption will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs, and stoke inflation. Some economic analysis have indicated it could cost the U.S. economy around $5 billion a day with the strike and U.S. agriculture will be directly affected.
“What we’re hearing from our membership is that it sounds like about the middle of last week, their container shipments to the east just shut down,” according to National Grain and Feed Association President and CEO Mike Seyfert. “I think that’s the thing that’s really frustrating to NGFA and our members that folks don’t always realize in these situations is that folks, you know say, well, you got to let the politics play out and you got to let this side say this, or you got to let this side say that. You don’t flip a light switch and oh, we’re going to have a strike. We’re not going to have a strike. We’re going to have a stoppage. You see what happened last week. These shipping groups, the shippers, the railroads, the shipping lines, everybody has to start to wind this down.”
“And then even if it doesn’t happen, or it’s a one, two day thing, then it takes multiple days to wind it back up,” adds Seyfert. “And so, you know, the impact is through the breadth of the chain and just the threat or the discussion starts resulting in a wind down. And obviously, if you have the strike, you’ve got a heck of an impact.”
Seyfert also added that shipping all commodities and goods to west coast ports in this situation is not logistically feasible with everyone else trying to do the same and it is not cost effective for many, particularly on the ag side.
Representing 45-thousand port workers, the International Longshoremen’s Association had been negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance for a new six-year contract. White House officials hope for a short strike, but President Biden has said he will not use federal powers to force dockworkers to remain on the job.
***As of 6:00am CST on Tuesday, the strike was on-going. We will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they occur.