US dock workers picketed for a second day on Wednesday, rallying support from other labor groups as the Biden administration urged shippers to step up their bid to end a damaging strike weeks before the presidential election.
About 45,000 International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) workers walked off their jobs at the port early Tuesday after failing to reach a new agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents shipping companies and terminal operators .
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the strike could be ended quickly, arguing that shippers should share more of the bonus after a period of “incredible profits”.
“We actually think the parties, financially, are not as far apart as they think they are,” Buttigieg told CNBC a day after the strike began at major East Coast and Gulf ports.
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“They’re the ones who have to come to the table, work it out, come to an agreement and get those ports back,” Buttigieg said.
However, an ILA spokesman said early Wednesday afternoon that there was no news on the negotiations. The leading unionists went to the purse strings and were joined by members of the Teamsters union.
The ILA is pushing for protection against automation-related job losses and big pay rises after dockers continued to provide essential services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
USMX said late Wednesday that it hopes to return to the bargaining table soon.
“Achieving an agreement will require negotiations — and our full focus is how to return to the table to further discuss these vital elements, many of which are interrelated,” USXM said.
“We cannot agree on terms to return to negotiations β but we remain committed to negotiating in good faith to address the ILA’s demands and USMX’s concerns,” he added.
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‘Destruction’
President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated it has no plans to intervene in the strike, with Biden himself stressing the importance of collective bargaining rights.
But South Carolina officials, Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, said the president should reconsider his position in light of the effects of Hurricane Helene, which has ravaged the Carolinas.
“We’re closing our ports in the midst of a disaster in this part of South Carolina and North Carolina. I’m all for treating people fairly. But I’ve urged President Biden not to let this go on much longer,” Graham said, who expressed concern about access to medical supplies.
“This hurricane was Mother Nature. The port problem is man-made. That’s why I’m calling on President Biden, don’t let it delay,” Graham said, warning that continued port closures could lead to “disaster.”
An ILA spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Graham’s statements.
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However, the union shot down an article in the New York Post that published photos of ILA President Harold Daggett’s property in Sparta, New Jersey, along with a picture of a Bentley car.
The Post article was published “with the intent to weaken his ability to negotiate a new master contract for ILA members,” the ILA said.
“The publication of images from Mr. Daggett’s home is reckless and places Daggett and his family at great risk of personal harm,” a letter from his attorney to the New York Post attorney said.
Source: AFP