Why the Soon-To-Be Striking Dockworkers’ Demands Are Reasonable

By: Lucas Feiden*

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East Coast and Gulf Coast port workers across the U.S. began their highly anticipated strike on Tuesday, October 1^st, 2024.^[1] The strike will likely halt the flow of half the country’s ocean shipping,^[2] including many common goods such as automobiles, food, and liquor.^[3] These port workers, all members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), are demanding “significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks.”^[4]

Under the ILA’s previous contract, which expired the day before the strike began, the starting pay for port workers was $20 per hour.^[5] Salaries increased gradually in proportion to years of service, topping at $39 per hour for workers with over six years of service.^[6] The ILA is demanding their next contract pay workers an additional $5 raise every year to account for inflation and the long hours worked.^[7] This amounts to a 77% increase over the duration of the contract.^[8]

The U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), a group that represents shipping companies and port authorities, is responsible for the salaries ILA workers receive.^[9] Despite the USMX’s offer of a nearly 50% increase over the next contract, the ILA has yet to budge.^[10]

Analysts at Oxford Economics suggest that this strike could cost the U.S. $4.5 billion per week as “truckers and other workers dependent on the ports are furloughed”.^[11] Moreover, for each week the strike continues, it will likely take a month to clear the backlog that it created.^[12] While companies can temporarily divert their shipments, West Coast ports cannot absorb all the cargo that goes through its East and Gulf Coast counterparts.^[13]

Given the looming economic impacts, the Biden administration has recently pressured USMX to raise their efforts to secure a deal to end the strike.^[14] However, the President has declined to use the authority granted by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to directly order the ILA back to work.^[15] Yet, with negotiations stagnant and billions of dollars being lost each week, it is increasingly likely that the President will reconsider this option. Indeed, institutions predict that this strike will conclude rather quickly.^[16] For example, Bank of America Analysts predict that the Taft-Hartley Act will be invoked within a few weeks.^[17]

The ILA strike highlights the consequences that an unsuccessful negotiation with a large union can have on the U.S. economy.

* J.D. Candidate, Class of 2026, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

[1] Chris Isidore & Vanessa Yurkevich, Port Workers Strike Across the East and Gulf Coasts, Cnn (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/port-strike-ila-10-01-24/index.html.

[2] Doyinsola Oladipo & David Shepardson, US Dockworkers Strike, Halting Half the Nation’s Ocean Shipping, Reuters (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-east-coast-dockworkers-head-toward-strike-after-deal-deadline-passes-2024-10-01/.

[3] Chris Isidore & Vanessa Yurkevich, Expect Shortages of Bananas, Booze, Chocolate and Cherries if there’s a long Port Strike, Cnn (Sept. 29, 2024),https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/29/business/goods-port-strike-east-gulf-coasts/index.html.

[4] What are the Demands of the Longshoreman? Here’s a Breakdown, KHOU-11 (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/longshoreman-strike-demands/285-38b45d5d-e10b-4280-a720-8640a55ef004.

[5] Megan Cerullo, How much do Dockworkers Make? Here are the Striking Workers’ Salaries, CBS News(Oct. 2, 2024), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-dock-workers-make-longshoreman-salary/.

[6] Id.

[7] Fernando Cervantes Jr., How much do Dockworkers Make? What to know about Wages amid ILA Port Strike, USA Today(Oct. 2, 2024), https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/02/port-strike-dockworkers-wages/75485424007/.

[8] Id.

[9] Chris Isidore & Vanessa Yurkevich, Port Workers Strike Across the East and Gulf Coasts, Cnn (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/port-strike-ila-10-01-24/index.html.

[10] Id.

[11] Danielle Kaye, How the Dockworkers’ Strike Could Ripple Through the Economy, N.Y. Times (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/01/business/economy/port-dockworkers-strike-economy.html.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Doyinsola Oladipo & David Shepardson, US Port Workers Union Backed by White House in Strike, Reuters (Oct. 2, 2024), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-sides-with-union-dockworker-strike-enters-second-day-2024-10-02/.

[15] 29 U.S.C.A. § 178; Danielle Kaye, How the Dockworkers’ Strike Could Ripple Through the Economy, N.Y. Times (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/01/business/economy/port-dockworkers-strike-economy.html.

[16] Michael Ballaban, Strike Shouldn’t last too long, Bank of America Estimates, Cnn (Oct. 1, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/port-strike-ila-10-01-24/index.html.

[17] Id.