East Coast and Gulf Ports Potential Strike

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Here’s What’s Going On >>>

Port workers and port authorities as well as shipping companies have not come to a contract agreement. If an agreement is not made before October 1, workers may go on strike.

What Are the Main Issues Involved? >>>

Wages and automation are the two main issues that need resolution. The union may be seeking a $5 raise each year for a six-year contract period. In regards to automation: foreign owners at the ports may be replacing workers with newer equipment.

How Many Port Workers Are In Play? >>>

About 25,000, stretching from the Port of Boston down to the Port of Houston.

Will the White House Step In? >>>

The White House could invoke the Taft-Hartly Act which would impose a cooling off period and provide more time for negotiations. The risk is that Biden may not want to ruffle feathers during an election year where his actions might generate blow-back from labor groups.

How disruptive would a prolonged strike be? >>>

A prolonged strike would deeply affect not only port workers but will impact port truckers, just-in-time retailers, agricultural products that have time-sensitive commodities and others. The impact would be mostly regional not nationwide except for pockets around the country.

My Opinion and Prediction (Mine Alone) >>>

My belief is there is a 20% chance of a strike. I believe the port authorities will cave to some extent and the Union may have some “give” on the wage factor. The issue of automation is too complicated to nail down. IF there IS a strike, I believe there will be an 80% chance of it being a short strike.

Why Do I Believe a Long Strike Will Not Occur? >>>

This potential Port strike is between wages and employee protections. Whereas I’m reminded of the Caterpillar strike back in the 1980s where a six-month strike tore the local economy to pieces. Caterpillar had been moving from a national player to competing on the world stage. They knew that in order to be competitive with other, big foreign companies, they had to curtail not only wages but benefits as well. For many years, labor contracts faced relatively little conflict thus Caterpillar stuck to their guns on this particular occasion in the 80s.

What Precautions Should Be Considered? >>>

Here’s the thing: if owners or management feel they’ve caved too much, they may start pushing for faster work habits. Boeing, currently facing their own strike, had some workers who felt they had to sacrifice quality for speed in previous negotiations. Not good. Boeing has been under fire for several construction mishaps that badly damaged their reputation to say the least. On the other hand, when workers feel their union leaders sold them out, animosity may set in where workers become more stubborn regarding future negotiations. Good negotiations should be a win-win for everyone – a tight rope to walk. Seldom does anyone get everything they want.

Here’s a short video by Lena Petrova that goes into more detail. She’s good.

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