‘Nothing’s going to move without us’: Port workers in Philadelphia and across the East Coast go on strike

Thousands of dockworkers across the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday, disrupting commerce at some of the country’s busiest ports and injecting new uncertainty into the U.S. economy just weeks before the presidential election.

Workers in Philadelphia and elsewhere hit the picket line around midnight when their contract with ocean carriers and port operators expired, marking the International Longshoremen’s Association’s first strike since 1977. Workers picketed outside multiple terminals in Philadelphia and Camden, effectively shutting down operations at a major gateway for the trade of perishable products like fruit.

A few dozen workers outside the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia on Tuesday morning held signs that said “Fight Automation, Save Jobs” and “ILA Workers Over Machines.” Across the street, a truck with a digital billboard blasted “corporate greed” and declared “machines don’t feed families.”

“Nothing’s going to move without us — nothing,” Harold J. Daggett, the president of the union, said in an address to members early Tuesday morning at a port in North Jersey. “We’re going to win this … thing … and we’re going to get what we deserve.”

The shipping industry has been preparing for a potential work stoppage for months, and supply-chain experts say cargoes are being diverted to other available ports. Analysts say consumers could see higher prices and shortages of some retail goods if the strike is not resolved quickly.

The 36 ports that employ ILA labor accounted for almost 60% of U.S. container cargo volume last year, valued at $3.2 billion worth of economic activity each day, according to John D. McCown, a shipping expert.

The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the port employers, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers. Yet no deal was reached, leading to workers walking off the job.

The union had been seeking a 77% pay increase over six years and rejected a last-minute offer to increase wages 50%, according to a statement from the Maritime Alliance. The workers also had concerns about the use of new technology to automate some work at the ports.

The union has pledged to continue to handle military cargo during the strike, and passenger cruise ships will be unaffected.

“We understand that many families plan and pay for cruises vacations on passenger ships more than a year out, and we don’t want them to be disappointed or inconvenienced in any way,” Daggett said in a statement.

President Joe Biden has indicated he won’t use his legal authority to halt the strike. The pro-labor Democrat said Tuesday that he has urged the Maritime Alliance to “come to the table and present a fair offer to the workers.”

“Ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic,” Biden said in a statement, noting that executives and shareholders have benefited from that growth. “It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well.”

On Tuesday, ILA members were picketing outside all three facilities where they work in Philadelphia — the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal and Pier 80 in South Philadelphia, as well as the Tioga Marine Terminal near the Betsy Ross Bridge, according to a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PhilaPort), the state agency that owns the properties. PhilaPort leases the facilities to private operators.

Workers on the picket line declined to be interviewed, saying they were not authorized to speak with the news media. Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291, told the Associated Press that workers want a fair contract that does not allow automation of their jobs.

Shipping companies made billions during the pandemic by charging high prices, he said. “Now we want them to pay back. They’re going to pay back,” Butler said.

He said that the union would strike for as long as it needs to get a fair deal, and that it has leverage over the companies.

“This is not something that you start and you stop,” he said. “We’re not weak,” he added, pointing to the union’s importance to the nation’s economy.

The AP reported that top-scale port workers earn about $81,000 a year in base pay, though some can make more than $200,000 with overtime and benefits. Their pay lags their West Coast counterparts, who are represented by a different union.

Ryan Mulvey, a spokesperson for PhilaPort, said the Packer Avenue terminal — which handles cargoes such as fruit, frozen meat, steel products, and paper — “will not work or deliver containers until the strike is resolved.” Tioga will also be shut down, he said, though that facility isn’t expecting any new ships until at least through the end of the week.

As of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, a couple of container ships had anchored outside Packer Avenue, “waiting to see the situation before heading to the berth,” Mulvey said, and another ship carrying automobiles is expected to dock there Wednesday.

A ship hauling paper is due at Pier 80 on Friday, Mulvey said. Some workers at that facility are represented by the Teamsters union. In general, he said, ILA workers unload the ships and handle the work inside the warehouse, while the Teamsters staff the adjacent buildings at Pier 74 South, 78 Annex, and Pier 82.

ILA members were also picketing Tuesday at the Balzano and Broadway terminals in Camden. Those facilities are owned and operated by the South Jersey Port Corp., a state-created entity. The port corporation does not directly employ ILA workers, “but they service vessels at our ports on behalf of our stevedore,” said Jonathan Atwood, SJPC’s chief of staff. “We are effectively shut down. We cannot discharge any vessels without the ILA acting as stevedores.”

There won’t be a total shutdown of port activity in the Philadelphia area, however, as some facilities are operated by companies that employ workers represented by different unions.

Some analysts are anticipating a protracted labor stoppage, as each side has reasons to keep it going. McCown, the shipping expert, said in a recent analysis that ocean carriers’ higher costs will likely be outpaced by gains from higher freight rates, meaning the employers could make more money as a result of the strike.

Will Brucher, a port labor expert in the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said it’s “reasonable for ILA members to fight for wages that are comparable to their West Coast counterparts and to address years of inflation that has devalued their incomes.”

“ILA members are also calling for job security as their employers seek further automation, mirroring the concerns of workers in many industries,” Brucher said.

The strike is estimated to reduce U.S. gross domestic product by $981 million for every month the stoppage continues, according to an analysis by Bjorn Markeson, an economist at economic modeling firm IMPLAN.

“Anecdotally, supply-chain disruptions might lead to increased costs for goods, which could contribute to inflationary pressures,” Markeson said. “If the strike prolongs, it could exacerbate existing supply shortages and drive prices higher.”

This article includes information from the Associated Press.