The port of Montreal and gateways along the east and Gulf coasts of the US are facing strikes set to severely disrupt North American supply chains.
Yesterday, the US ILA confirmed that its members at all Atlantic and Gulf coast ports – “from Maine to Texas” – would strike from 12:01am tomorrow.
The ILA noted on social media: “With 36 hours to go before the end of the ILA-USMX contract tomorrow evening, the 85,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, joined in solidarity by tens of thousands of dockworkers and maritime workers around the world, will hit the picket lines at 12:01 am on Tuesday, 1 October.
“United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) 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.”
It did not release the locations of protests or pickets.
The strike will affect about 36 major ports and about 70% of all containerised US exports, and roughly 56% of US imports, valued at some $588bn in 2023.
It’s estimated that for each day the ports are shut, recovery time will be one week. In a warning to customers, Seko Logistics said that warehouses and transportation hubs will face delays but may be manageable in the short term, but that trucking and rail would be “heavily impacted and would lead to higher costs and longer delays”.
Last week, employer association USMX filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in a bid to resume negotiations with the ILA.
Meanwhile, in Canada, over the weekend the CUPE Local 375 union said two Termont terminals (Viau and Maisonneuve) would not reopen today and stay closed until Thursday 3 October at 6.59am.
Canada’s Maritime Employers’ Association (MEA) said yesterday it had “tried all possible means of averting tomorrow’s planned strike … but to no avail”.
It added: “The MEA’s efforts through mediation, supported by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and at an emergency hearing this afternoon at the Canada Industrial Relations Board, did not bear fruit.
“The MEA had sincerely hoped to find common ground between the parties so that we could maintain operations. We are thus disappointed with this outcome.
“The MEA’s priority remains the conclusion of a negotiated collective agreement within the briefest possible delay.”
