CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – About 45,000 longshoremen on the East Coast plan to strike at midnight after stalled negotiations between the US Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association.

Negotiations between the maritime alliance and union representatives were first suspended on June 11 after disputes over automation at the Port of Mobile, Alabama, according to a ILA news item.

Two key points that ILA leadership is pushing for in a new framework contract are a better pay package and protection against automation.

Both sides failed to reach an agreement with the ILA before the expiration of the USMX-ILA Master Contract, calling the maritime alliance’s pay package “unacceptable.” September 23 edition.

USMX has since filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union, accusing the ILA of refusing to come to the bargaining table to negotiate.

The ILA Local 1422, which represents longshoremen in Charleston, wrote in a statement that despite the tireless work of union members during the pandemic, employers are still refusing to fairly compensate workers.

“It’s not us against them. It’s really just what’s right and what’s fair,” ILA Local 1422 member Marquett Mapp said during a meeting Monday. “This has gone on for far too long. We never stopped working during the pandemic. We are essential workers.”

The union claimed that recent wage increases have failed to cover the costs of inflation, despite rising revenues for companies using the ports.

“The ILA fights for respect, appreciation and fairness in a world where companies are determined to replace hard-working people with automation,” ILA Local 1422 wrote in a statement.

Possible economic consequences of work stoppage

The ILA last went on strike in 1977. That strike lasted 57 days and was resolved when the Carriers Container Council and ILA reached an agreement to bring the Job Security Program to 36 East Coast Ports, according to the USMX website.

After decades of successful negotiations on prime contracts between the Maritime Alliance and the union, workers are now back where they were in the late 1970s, with widespread work stoppages threatening dozens of East Coast ports.

“We’re just going to play it day by day. I would say to the community, keep us lifted up in prayer,” said Charles Brave, president of ILA Local 1422. “We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

The ports contribute $86.7 billion annually to South Carolina’s economy. a 2023 SC Ports economic impact report written by research economist Joseph Von Nessen, states.

Von Nessen says the ports may be the most important competitive asset South Carolina has to offer.

“Any kind of delay in shipping will pose challenges for any industry that relies on imports or exports,” Von Nessen said. “It’s hard to speculate, but all parties have an incentive to resolve this quickly because no one wants to see any kind of delay or uncertainty in shipping.”

Von Nessen points to South Carolina’s advanced manufacturing industry as an area that relies heavily on its ports to support its operations.

South Carolina’s manufacturing sector is a key driver of economic growth, according to the 2023 Ports Authority report.

About 95% of the state’s import and export activities are facilitated by the manufacturing industry.

“When we look at advanced manufacturing, it is the primary industry that has driven growth in South Carolina over the past decade and that couldn’t happen without the support of South Carolina’s ports,” Von Nessen said.

Calls for federal intervention

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joined by dozens of trade organizations, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, calling on him to work with both sides to prevent disruptions at the ports.

“The only way to resolve these issues is for the parties to come back to the bargaining table and actually negotiate the new contract,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote. “We encourage the government to provide the parties with every support in their negotiations so that they can reach a final agreement before the current contract expires.”

Kent Gourdin is director of the College of Charleston’s Global Logistics and Transportation Program. Gourdin says Biden could bring about a temporary end to the strike by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.

To do this, Biden would need to seek a court order to issue a mandatory 80-day cooling-off period, allowing ILA members to temporarily return to work.

“At some point he almost had to do that because it would just be too destructive to the economy,” Gourdin says.

A ripple effect on logistics and transport

Gourdin said he doesn’t believe consumers will immediately feel the widespread impact of a strike at the ports because many retailers have large amounts of inventory stockpiled in warehouses.

But he says if the strike lasts long enough, it could be a while before things get back to normal.

“It’s just a completely integrated system,” says Gourdin. “It’s all based on this whole seamless flow: ships and ports and transport companies and railways. If one of those things breaks, the whole thing fails.”

He says one industry that could be particularly affected by the strike is South Carolina’s auto industry.

The 2023 SC Ports report states that South Carolina has been the nation’s largest exporter of completed passenger vehicles for nine years in a row.

Gourdin says the ports receive two trains a day from Greer’s BMW plant, which then have nowhere to go if the ports can’t export cargo.

“Any company that exports through the port to some extent will eventually feel the pressure,” Gourdin says.

U.S. Senator Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, released the following statement Monday afternoon:

At least a hundred Americans have died, millions are without power, and flooding continues to destroy homes and communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. I urge members of the International Longshoremen’s Association to continue working temporarily under their current contracts until the storm’s suffering has subsided. As Americans, it is our duty to help those in need access shelter, food, water and electricity. A strike would massively disrupt our supply chain and economy, and only worsen the pain of those who have already lost everything.

The South Carolina Ports Authority declined a request for comment on the strike.

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