Thousands of dockworkers are on strike Tuesday after stalled negotiations on a new union contract.
Missing a midnight deadline, hundreds of workers belonging to the International Longshoremen’s Association in South Florida hit the picket line with signs and megaphones, demanding better wages and limits on automation.
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“It’s time to invest in the people and not invest in machinery,” said local ILA President Johnnie Dixon. “Machinery does not pay taxes in our community, does not buy cars, does not buy clothes, it doesn’t send kids to college."
The strike has stalled imports and exports at both PortMiami and Port Everglades where massive containers of fresh produce from South America and seafood comes in.
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Distilled spirits like rum from the Caribbean region are also imported through South Florida’s ports. Some of these perishable items are now sitting in containers at the seaports.
Danny Munch of the American Farm Bureau Federation says the impact will be felt in grocery stores.
“They can’t just sit in a container forever. They’re more likely to cause shortages in grocery stores,” said Munch. “When we think about the consumer, the first thing that will be impacted is our fresh produce and fresh seafood - about $17 billion of fresh seafood comes through these ports on the East and Gulf Coast. That’s about 80 percent of our seafood imports.”
ILA union workers are striking at more than a dozen Seaports from Texas to New England. The longer the strike lasts, the greater impact on prices and supply.
Jonathan Gold with the National Retail Federation says it is estimated for every day workers remain on strike, the economy will take a $5 billion hit.
"Every day the port is shut down, it takes 3 to 5 days for recovery. Unfortunately, the longer you go, the longer that takes as that compounds," said Gold. "So, if you have a weeklong strike, that could take 4 to 6 weeks for recovery. If you go two weeks, you’re looking at several months before full recovery happens."
As of Tuesday night, there was no sign that the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance were close to securing a new union contract.
According to the local union president, retailers stocked up early in anticipation of the strike. He says the union isn’t the reason why prices may climb.
"We saw an increase in containers coming in from January of this year so, the local retailers are already stocked," said local ILA President Dixon. "It’s just an opportunity to gouge the prices."
