Written by David Shepardson and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A strike at ports on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico will begin on Tuesday, the International Longshoremen’s Union said on Sunday, signaling action that could cause delays and disrupt supply chains.
“The United States Naval Alliance… refuses to address half a century of wage oppression,” the union said in a statement. The United States Marine Alliance, known as USMX, represents employers in the coastal industry in the East and Gulf Coast.
USMX did not immediately comment.
If union members stop working at ports from Maine to Texas, it would be the first coastwide strike since 1977, affecting ports that handle about half of the nation’s ocean freight.
A source said that no negotiations took place on Sunday and none are scheduled to take place before the midnight deadline on Monday. The union said earlier that the strike would not affect shipments of military goods or the movement of cruise ships.
The White House did not immediately comment on the union’s statement.
Earlier Sunday, President Joe Biden said he had no intention of intervening to prevent a strike if dockworkers failed to secure a new contract by the Oct. 1 deadline.
“It’s collective bargaining. I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” he told reporters. Presidents can intervene in labor disputes that threaten national security or safety by imposing an 80-day cooling-off period under the federal Taft-Hartley Act.
Reuters first reported on September 17 that Biden did not plan to trigger the Taft-Hartley provision, citing a White House official.
The strike could halt the flow of everything from food to cars at major ports – a dispute that could put jobs at risk and stoke inflation weeks before the US presidential election.
The Business Roundtable, which represents major US business leaders, said it was “deeply concerned about a potential strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.”
The group warned that a walkout could cost the US economy billions of dollars a day, “harming American businesses, workers and consumers across the country. We urge both sides to reach an agreement before Monday night’s deadline.”
For months, the union has threatened to close the 36 ports it covers if employers such as container ship operator Maersk and APM Terminals North America do not provide significant wage increases and halt terminal automation projects.
This dispute raises concerns for companies that rely on sea shipping to export their goods or secure vital imports.
On Friday, Biden administration officials met with the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) employers’ group to convey directly to them that “they need to come to the table and negotiate in good faith fairly and quickly” — a message they had earlier delivered to the International Law Department.
Employer group USMX accused the Land Administration of refusing to negotiate.