WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)– Port workers are the latest group flexing their union muscle. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is going toe-to-toe with management, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).
Roughly 50,000 workers walked off the job Tuesday morning after union leaders rejected USMX’s final offer to raise wages by 50% over six years and some concessions on automation.
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1291 President Boise Butler who was on the picket lines before sunrise said workers deserve a larger share of company profits. The union is demanding a 77% wage increase over six years and commitments to ensure jobs are not replaced by automation.
“They made billions and billions and billions of dollars during Covid,” Butler said. “Now? We want them to pay back. They’re going to pay back.”
President Joe Biden agrees workers who put their lives at risk during the pandemic deserve a larger share of companies’ surging profits.
Tuesday the White House brushed off concerns a prolonged strike could impact supply chains and increase already high consumer costs. The strike impacts 36 ports and billions in trade transported through the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the Biden administration is “closely monitoring” the situation and has assembled a task force to deal with any supply chain issues.
The American Trucking Associations is less optimistic. CEO Chris Spear says consumers could see shortages in the produce section as early as this week. He warns if the strike extends two to three weeks their could major delays in holiday shipments and price surges.
George Washington University Business Professor Sanjay Jain says unless President Biden forces workers back to work, the White House has limited options to keep prices down if the standoff lasts for weeks.
President Biden who has dubbed himself the “most union president” says he will not force workers back to work.
Jain says ILA’s demands could be hard to meet. They are asking for higher pay and less automation, two factors that would shrink profit margins for companies’ long term.
“We have to find a balance to ensure benefits to workers but at the same time workers should not be pushing for very high increase in their wages. That will really push the owners to go for higher automation which will cut down the number of jobs long term,” he said.
