Early in October, the International Longshoresmen’s Association (ILA) briefly went on strike for the first time since 1977, creating lots of panic over the economy at large. The ILA is a very large entity, encompassing over 45,000 workers across the entire east coast. These workers are in charge of processing most of the imports and exports on the coast. This could’ve caused (and could still cause) a very large pile-up of goods, which would have an extreme impact on the U.S. economy.
Two of the sectors impacted the most are the automobile and food industries. With the food industry, many imported staples were derailed, with bananas, coffee, cherries, seafood, and chocolate being some of the most affected. As an example of how big the impact is, 75% of U.S. banana imports are waterborne. With the auto sector, car orders were projected to be immediately impacted, with delays also lasting a few weeks.
The ILA was striking against the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which controls the striking ports. The ILA’s main demands consist of a 77% pay raise for union members over the course of 6 years and a universal ban on automation. The USMX is not intent on meeting these demands and are offering a 50% raise instead.
Shortly after the strike began, it was paused up until Jan. 15 to give them time to negotiate a new contract while minimizing the immediate impacts. This also postpones any effects until after election day, which will be on Nov. 5, passes. This is very important as the negotiations could’ve easily had impacts on the outcome if they lasted any longer.
This strike is something that you should be paying very close attention to, as it will likely cause price increases and delays if the negotiations aren’t completed before it resumes. It will also play an important role in politics for the next few months, as Georgia and Pennsylvania are both swing states and on the east coast where the strikes are. Over the course of the next few months, this could become a core political and economic issue and affect many aspects of your life. I urge you to pay close attention to this as time goes on.
