A massive labor strike, involving 45,000 workers across three dozen East Coast and Gulf Coast shipping ports, went into effect at midnight Monday and could have global impacts, and reignite U.S. inflation, if the stoppage turns into a protracted event.
Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association have so far been unable to reach an agreement over wages and protections against industry automation in talks with ports’ representative U.S. Maritime Alliance. Union leaders say shipping companies raked in billions during pandemic conditions as rates skyrocketed amid global supply chain snarls while workers saw only moderate pay increases.
“Now we want them to pay back,” local ILA president Boise Butler told the Associated Press . “They’re going to pay back.”
The run-up to Tuesday’s labor action has stretched for months, a dynamic that allowed many U.S. businesses to plan for a potential stoppage by upping orders before port operations came to a halt.