CHARLESTON — After failing to reach a final-hour agreement, some 45,000 members of the International Longshoreman Association went on strike Tuesday, shutting down 36 seaports from Maine to Texas, including in Charleston.
Union members set up picket lines at three S.C. State Ports Authority shipping terminals just after midnight, according to Charles Brave, president of International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422.
The strike marks the first in almost 50 years for the East Coast union workers who load and unload cargo from container ships. That 1977 strike lasted more than six weeks and ended in a deal for raises, increased pension contributions and provisions addressing automation new at that time.
Eastern ports handle about half of the United States’ annual cargo trade. West Coast ports remain open as longshoremen there belong to a different union and agreed last year on a new contract, which also included pay hikes.
The union is seeking wage hikes of $5 more per hour annually for six years, which represents a 77% pay increase over the length of the contract, reports the New York Times. The union also wants a ban on the use of automated cranes and container-handling equipment that require fewer workers.
Talks with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, known as USMX, which represents major shipping lines, broke down in June. The last day of the union’s previous working contract with the alliance was Monday, expiring before a new deal was reached.
“ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing,” the union said in a statement Monday morning.
Under the union’s now-expired contract, negotiated in 2018, dockworkers start at $20 an hour. Employees with at least six years of experience receive a base pay of $39 an hour, which translates to $81,120 a year for a regular 40-hour work week. But longshoreman often work much more, sometimes earning over $200,000 annually with overtime, weekends and extra shifts.
The union’s pre-strike request would raise base pay for experienced dockworkers to $69 an hour by 2030.
Hours before the midnight deadline, the alliance saidit was offering 50% raises and seeking a contract extension for talks to continue.
In South Carolina, said the local president, computerization, more than increased wages, is the greatest concern to his members. He pointed to the impact automation can have on local economies.
“Robots don’t raise families. They don’t pay taxes. They don’t shop at the grocery store. They don’t buy cars,” Brave told the SC Daily Gazette.
Two container ships were scheduled for loading and offloading Tuesday at the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant, according to the South Carolina Ports Authority’s calendar.
While the strike is on, the union will still work cargo ships containing materials for the military, perishable goods and cruise ships, according to Brave. Beyond that, he said, “there ain’t nothing moving on the port.”
Brave said his local chapter alone has about 1,400 members who work at South Carolina’s port terminals. About 80% of them have the experience needed to be paid at top scale, and most work more than 40 hours every week, he said.
