A labor strike is set to shut down several Port of Virginia facilities and 13 other ports along the East coast starting midnight Monday.
Negotiations between the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port owners and shipping companies, and the International Longshoreman’s Association have been deadlocked for months.
"United States Maritime Alliance refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation where Ocean Carriers profits skyrocketed from millions to mega-billion dollars, while ILA longshore wages remained flat," the ILA wrote in a statement on Facebook Sunday.
The ILA is pushing for large raises for its workers and bans on automation. It’s been preparing 25,000 workers at ports from New England to Texas to walk off the job when the existing contract expires Oct. 1. This would be the union's first East Coast strike since 1977.
The Port of Virginia announced plans last week to wind down operations if the strike isn’t averted.
Several of the ports’ facilities will accept their last inbound trains at 8 a.m. Monday and close inbound truck gates at noon. By 1 p.m., all ships will be away from the docks.
If a strike does go ahead, the Portsmouth Marine Terminal and Virginia’s two inland ports will continue to operate as normal.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine said last week a strike would be “a very damaging thing” for the state and nation.
“The economy of Virginia and the economy of the country depends upon the most seamless possible transfer of goods that we can,” Kaine said. “We've already had disruptions in (the) supply chain because of Houthi rebels firing missiles at commercial ships in the Red Sea. That poses enough challenges already, we don't need to strike on top of it.”
JP Morgan says the strike could cost the U.S. economy up to $5 billion per day. Nearly 70% of the nation’s container exports and about 56% of container cargo imports move through ports on the East and Gulf coasts.
Kaine said he’s confident the Department of Labor will be able to get the two sides talking again and avoid a strike. But that hadn’t happened as of Sunday night, and President Joe Biden told reporters Sunday he wouldn't use his authority to intervene.
On Thursday, the United States Maritime Alliance filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the ILA, asking the board to compel the union to come back to the bargaining table.
The ILA walked away from negotiations in June in protest over the use of automated gates at some ports. The union called the Maritime Alliance’s filing a publicity stunt.
Many carriers have already been diverting cargo to the West Coast, but those ports can’t handle all of it.
West Coast port workers, represented by a different union, recently signed a contract securing raises and averted a strike on the other side of the country.
WHRO’s Doug Boynton contributed to this report.
