The Port of New York and New Jersey is preparing for a complete work shutdown by unionized dockworkers on the East Coast and Gulf Coast who handle about half of the nation’s shipping cargo — setting off a potential supply chain crisis that has roiled the economy since the COVID pandemic struck.
The International Longshoremen's Association union, which represents 85,000 workers at 36 ports, has vowed to strike That is if he doesn’t get a new deal before his current six-year contract expires at midnight on September 30.
Beth Rooney, Port Director, New York and New Jersey Port Authority, told CNBC on Thursday The busiest port on the eastern seaboard has begun shutting down operations to avoid a pile-up of containers.
According to Rooney, port officials are engaged in discussions about how to manage the cargo, which could lead to a work stoppage.
“Several ocean carriers have announced their plans to ban export cargo coming from the Midwest to the East Coast,” Rooney said.
“So the further away the goods come to us from, the sooner it will be banned,” he said.
Rooney said that if a strike occurs and operations stop, “ships will either wait in a designated area or slow down as they did during COVID to delay their arrival.”
“Once the attack is over the Coast Guard will lead the orderly flow of ships entering the port,” he said.
As of Friday, 147 ships — carrying an estimated $34 billion worth of cargo — were expected to arrive at East Coast and Gulf ports by Oct. 1, according to data and analytics company Kpler.
Of these, 38 aircraft were heading towards New York/New Jersey port.
The union is demanding significantly higher wages and a complete ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container movements used in the loading or unloading of goods at 36 US ports.
A prolonged strike would certainly hurt the economy. Five of the country's 10 largest ports are on either the Gulf or East Coast, which handle 43%-49% of all US imports.
Even a small strike can cause disruptions. There is likely to be heavy vehicular traffic at key locations across the country as goods are diverted to west coast ports, where workers belong to a different union that is not involved in the strike.
When the longshoremen’s union eventually returns to work, a backlog on ships will likely occur.
Experts say it takes four to six days to end each day of strike at the port.
Top-level port workers now earn a base salary of $39 an hour, or more than $81,000 a year.
But with overtime and other benefits, some can earn more than $200,000 a year.
Neither the union nor the port will discuss pay levels. But a 2019-2020 report from the Waterfront Commission, which oversees New York Harbor, said about a third of longshoremen based there earn $200,000 or more.
The United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said it was committed to restarting negotiations and averting the first national longshoremen's strike since 1977.
It has accused the union of having already decided to quit.
“We need to sit down and negotiate a new agreement to avoid an unnecessary and costly strike that would be damaging to both sides,” the coalition said in a statement.
with post wire
