Days before a possible strike by longshoremen on the East and Gulf coasts, port employers said Sept 26 that they were asking a federal labour regulator to force the dockworkers’ union to resume negotiating a new contract.
The United States Maritime Alliance, which is made up of port terminal operators, said it had filed an “unfair labour practice” complaint at the National Labour Relations Board after, it said, the International Longshoremen’s Association repeatedly refused to negotiate. The alliance said it wanted the labour board to rule that the union must negotiate with the employers.
In a statement Sept 26, Mr Jim McNamara, an ILA spokesperson, called the charge a “publicity stunt” that illustrated that the port employers were “poor negotiating partners”.
A week ago, the union said the two sides had “communicated multiple times in recent weeks,” and it contended that a stalemate existed because the Maritime Alliance was offering “an unacceptable wage increase.”
A strike could begin Oct 1, after the current labour contract expires Sept 30. The ILA broke off talks in June, contending that it had discovered that an employer was using labour-saving technology at the port in Mobile, Alabama, that it claimed was unauthorised under the current contract.
A strike would close nearly all activity at ports from Maine to Texas – including at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the third busiest in the country. Analysts say even a short walkout could deal a blow to the economy. Fearing a strike, importers have been bringing in goods before next week and diverting some shipments to West Coast ports.
Officials in the Biden administration have said President Joe Biden is not planning to force dockworkers back to work, which the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act authorises him to do. But economists said Mr Biden might
