Thousands of dockworkers across U.S. about to strike. What we know about MS Coast ports
Thousands of longshoremen demanding better salaries are likely to strike Tuesday at ports along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
But on Monday, whether picket lines would form on the Mississippi Coast was still largely unclear.
The International Longshoremen’s Association has said it will strike just after midnight on Monday after bitter contract negotiations with port managers collapsed this summer.
It is unclear how many of the group’s members work on the Mississippi Coast. International Longshoremen’s Association representatives from Gulfport and Mobile did not immediately return messages left Monday. The group also said it would not grant interviews on Monday as it prepared to strike.
It is also unclear if workers in Gulfport will strike. But in a Facebook post on Monday, the longshoremen’s group said the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port managers, had rejected the group’s “demands for a fair and decent contract and seems intent on causing a strike at all ports from Maine to Texas.”
The Port of Gulfport is “not party” to contract negotiations between the longshoremen and the United States Maritime Alliance, the Mississippi State Port Authority said in a statement. But the Port Authority said it has “great respect” for its workers and hopes the groups “will come to a mutually beneficial agreement to alleviate a negative economic impact.”
In Pascagoula, the port “remains well-positioned to continue business as usual” because it uses union and non-union labor, Port Director Bo Ethridge said in a statement. The port was unable to say Monday how many workers belong to the International Longshoremen’s Association.
“We anticipate minimal to no impact on our day-to-day activities,” Ethridge said. “We remain fully committed to providing uninterrupted service to all our customers and ensuring smooth flow of commerce through our port.”
Dockworker strike looms
The dockworkers current contract expires at midnight on Monday.
A strike could impact anything shipped in containers at up to 36 ports from Maine to Texas. Port managers have seen the strike coming and been preparing for months, but it could still disrupt imports and exports. The standoff would also be the first time dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports go on strike since 1977.
The International Longshoremen’s Association has said it expects its 85,000 members to hit picket lines on Tuesday. The union is demanding raises and guarantees that artificial intelligence will not replace human workers.
In a statement last week, Dennis A. Daggett, the International Longshoreman’s Association executive vice president, framed the strike as “one of the toughest battles our union has faced in decades.”
Corporations that profited from longshoremen’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic “refuse to share those profits with the workers who make them possible,” he said in the statement. “We will not accept automation replacing the men and women who built this industry with their blood, sweat, and sacrifice.”
The U.S. Maritime Alliance said last week said it was “unable to schedule a meeting to continue negotiations” despite its efforts.
“We want to bargain and avoid a strike,” the group’s statement said, “but time is running out if the ILA is unwilling to return to the table.”
The International Longshoremen’s Association covers 14 major ports. None listed on its map are on the Mississippi Coast. The nearest major ports covered are in New Orleans and Mobile.
The group has also said it will keep moving military cargo and cruise ships throughout the strike.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 3:12 PM.