Around 45,000 US port workers go off the job after their contract expires at midnight.
According to The Guardian, some of the busiest US ports faced potential shutdown as the union members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) went on strike after the negotiation with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) failed on Monday, September 30, 2024.
As a result, 45,000 port workers began to strike on Tuesday, October 1 at 12:01 am ET, affecting 36 ports along the East and Gulf coasts.
Philadelphia and Virginia port workers began picketing shortly after midnight, chanting, “No work without a fair contract.”
Moreover, both ILA and USMX accused each other of refusing to bargain. ILA said that USMX broke the previous contract and introduced automation at the port. It also argued that the maritime alliance has “low-balled” offers on wage raises for workers.
The wages of the workers as per the contract expired on Monday ranged from $20 an hour to the top wage of $39 an hour. The protestors are demanding 77% over the six-year contract. It will make the top rate of $69 an hour by 2030.
The union members asserted that they would continue to work on passenger cruise ships and military cargo.
The Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labour unions in the US, also extended their support for the workers ahead of the strike.
To note, it is also estimated that the strike will cost the US economy $5 billion per day. This is the first strike by the port workers on the US East Coast since 1977.
