Longshoremen begin a historic strike in the United States that threatens trade

Historic strike among American port workers At midnight on Tuesday, workers in the 14 largest ports on the east coast of the United States – including New York, Boston, Miami and Philadelphia – suspended their activities to pressure companies and achieve a greater increase in salaries. This is the first measure of this kind since 1977, which may lead to the disruption of trade exchanges in half the country while… Black Friday And the Christmas campaign. The White House is closely monitoring the development of the conflict and urges continued dialogue.

Last-minute negotiations to stop the start of the protest failed. Today stranded,They started in May with payroll and automation as big points, and September 30 as a deadline, when the previous agreement expired. The Port Companies Association USMX had raised its offer from improving salary by 40% to another 50% within 6 years. ILA Federation Demands 77% increaseIn addition to other improvements in the field of retirement or health insurance, and He asserts that he “will fight as long as necessary” and will continue the strike “as long as necessary.”

After the employer's offer was rejected as insufficient, the strike began immediately after the end of the previous agreement, at midnight today, which included 25,000 workers out of a total of 85,000 employees. The protest affects 36 ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. In the West, an agreement has already been reached in 2023 limiting the strike, preventing them from joining.

Although it threatens commercial traffic, it is expected that the transport of hydrocarbons, agricultural products or cruise ships will not be significantly affected. Each day of the strike will cost between $3.8 and $4.5 billion, according to JPMorgan calculations. It can also affect Christmas shopping, holidays or inflation.

The automotive sector will be one of the affected sectors, as Baltimore, Georgia, serves as a port of entry for spare parts and a port of exit for finished vehicles. The Port of New York alone has 100,000 containers waiting to be unloaded and about 35 ships on the way, according to Rick Cotton, president of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The workers' main demand is to distribute the “billions of dollars” in profits added by shipping companies after the pandemic. The union confirms that salaries did not grow at the same rate due to inflation. According to the AP, ILA workers earn between $81,000 and $200,000 annually, depending on overtime.

Pickup in transportation prices

“We expect the strike to last between five and seven days until there is government intervention… but the domino effect is likely to be felt across all networks in Europe and Asia until at least January and February,” strike leader Peter Sand said. Analyst at transportation pricing platform Xeneta. United States President Joe Biden refused to intervene on Sunday.

ILA says consumers are paying increased transportation costs, which have jumped from $6,000 to $30,000 in just a few weeks on certain routes. “We are now seeing about a 20% increase in rates from Europe to the East Coast of the United States,” Sand added. Alternatively, ships are diverted to Canada or air transportation is chosen.