Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/21693976 (020339ZOCT24) Notable: Major Port Shutdown: ILA Dockworkers Hit the Picket Lines, Halting Operations on Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
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More on the strike
ILA UNION ON STRIKE IN 36 US PORTS – Teamsters Warn Biden To ‘Stay the F*ck Out of This Fight’
John Konrad September 30, 2024
by John Konrad (gCaptain) Images from social media confirm that members of the International Longshoreman Association (ILA) Union are on strike and starting to gather at outside US ports from Texas to Maine.
“We are official out on strike, our contract ended at midnight,” Bernie ODonnell, international Vice President for ILA New England told reporters. “We plan on being here 24/7 until we get a good contract. We are looking for a fair contract and we are fighting automation.”
In a last-minute effort today to avert the strike, port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced that both sides have exchanged wage-related offers. However, reporting quickly indicated that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union had already rejected the offer.
The current contract, which covers approximately 45,000 port workers across 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts expired at midnight this morning.
BREAKING – Over 45k union dockworkers with ILA are officially on strike, shutting down all East and Gulf coast ports, from New York to Miami to Houston. They’re standing to protect their future against the shipping companies forcing automation on the docks. pic.twitter.com/BnRqZzkHqT
— On the Line (@laborontheline) October 1, 2024
“The USMX increased our offer and has also requested an extension of the current contract, now that both sides have moved of their previous positions,” the USMX said in a statement issued late Monday afternoon. “We are hopeful that this could allow us to fully resume collective bargaining around the other outstanding issues – in an effort to reach an agreement.”
In soldiarity with the ILA the powerful Teamsters Union issued a statement warning the Biden Adminsitration to “stay the f”*k out of this fight” (sic).
“The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, including our members in the freight industry, stand in full solidarity with the International Longshoremen’s Association,” said a statement the teamasters released via facebook. “The U.S. government should stay the f**k out of this fight and allow union workers to withhold their labor for the wages and benefits they have earned. Any workers—on the road, in the ports, in the air-should be able to fight for a better life free of government interference. Corporations for too long have been able to rely on political puppets to help them strip working people of their inherent leverage.”
The Teamsters tells Biden to “stay the f**k out of this fight” in their statement of solidarity with the ILA.
When did organizations start using curse words in their official press releases?
T minus 54 minutes to the port strike… pic.twitter.com/HRb3OEHMNX
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) October 1, 2024
The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO – which includes unions representing crewmembers aobard US flagged merchant ships – on Monday expressed solidarity with the ILA, stating, “Rank-and-file ILA members have made many sacrifices, particularly in recent years, and they deserve a collective bargaining agreement that reflects their importance to our nation’s ports and to the U.S. economy.”
US Maritime Unions representing merchant mariners working aboard the majority of US Flagged Ships post letter of solidarity with ILA Union members pic.twitter.com/otaM8Bzyd2
— John ? Konrad V (@johnkonrad) October 1, 2024
ILA members began lining up at the picket lines three hours before the clock struck midnight at the front gate of the Port of New Jersey marine terminals. Alongside a photo of a large ILA banner, the union member, who goes by NJPIER on X, wrote, “The general public still isn’t taking the strike seriously.”
The Port of Virginia posted an update on its website announcing the start of a strike just after midnight. It stated, “Due to the expiration of the master agreement between United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), a work stoppage has begun at The Port of Virginia and other ports along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts.” Social media footage has also captured striking dockworkers marching to picket Boston’s Conley terminal moments after the deadline expired.
NOW: The port strike has begun here in Boston.
Members of the International Longshoremen's Association are marching to the Conley Terminal to hit the picket line after failed contract negotiations with the US Maritime Alliance. This will impact ports from ME to TX. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/w7l3JC9iAB
— Kirsten Glavin (@kirstenglavin) October 1, 2024
The USMX’s rejected last minute proposal this afternoon included a nearly 50% wage increase, doubled employer contributions to retirement plans, and improved healthcare options. It also maintains “the current language around automation and semi-automation.”
In a statement earlier on Monday, the ILA accused the USMX of continuing “to block the path toward a settlement” by refusing the ILA’s demands over wages and automation, and alleged the employers’ group seemed “intent on causing a strike” at all ports from Maine to Texas. The ILA statement cited USMX’s refusal to meet “fair contract” demands as the strike’s main cause. It criticized ocean carriers represented by USMX, claiming they seek “billion-dollar profits” from U.S. ports at the expense of American workers, benefiting foreign conglomerates.
The ILA is not answering questions, only reiterating why they’re going on strike.
Brief comment tonight from Bernie ODonnell, international Vice President for the union’s New England area. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/XnibBpZWZt
— Kirsten Glavin (@kirstenglavin) October 1, 2024
The union also accused the ocean carriers of “gouging their customers,” pointing to a dramatic increase in container shipping costs. “They are now charging $30,000 for a full container, a whopping increase from $6,000 per container just a few weeks ago,” the ILA said.
Supply chain professionals say this will cause shortages in everything from ripe bananas to critical medicine and manufacturing parts and J.P. Morgan estimates that a strike could cost the U.S. economy $5 billion a day.
More:
https://8kun.top/qresearch/res/21693599.html#21693687