UPDATE – The International Longshoremen’s Association released a statement about a tentative agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance “on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until Jan. 15, 2025, to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”
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Business and industry leaders are cautious but optimistic that the ongoing International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike will end in relative short order and without major impact to interests in and around the Golden Triangle.
The strike began in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday when ILA members walked off the job amid their ongoing contract dispute with the United States Maritime Alliance, which includes container carriers, direct employers and port associations serving the Gulf and East Coasts.
The ILA is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 85,000 longshoremen in ports from Texas to Maine.
Regionally, the nearest impacted location is the Port of Houston.
Local response
Port of Port Arthur Executive Director/CEO Larry Kelley is monitoring the situation and potential impact.
“The Port of Port Arthur is not affected by the current labor disruption,” he said. “Operations are normal at the port. As a consumer, I think we all hope for a speedy resolution.”
Lorrie Taylor, executive port director/CEO, with the Port of Orange said the Orange County port is not experiencing any disruptions with the strike and anticipates that to continue throughout the negotiation. Taylor said officials would continue to monitor for any disruptions.
Elton Hollis, one of the leaders with Golden Triangle Industrial Group and owner of Hol-Tech Resources, is studying the developments with colleagues and remains cautiously optimistic.
“It is unfortunate that it is happening, but it is also one of those things, from the sources we have been talking to and what we have been reading and researching, that looks like something that will get resolved quicker than tending to drag out,” Hollis said.
He is impressing on the community not to rush into any immediate reactions.
“Some are going to make rash decisions in the beginning, but the great things about the ports we have around here and the amount of information local and civic offices are putting out there, most of what we do here in the area is American-made and more importantly, Texan-made,” Hollis said. “That is the great thing about taking care of what is in your own area. We’re used to taking care of our own. Those things don’t quite affect us as much as they do the rest of the U.S.”
Associated Builders and Contractors Southeast Texas Chapter released a statement coordinated with many national interests calling upon President Biden to use his authority to end the strike.
“Given the dire situation and the massive negative ramifications for our industries and the economy, we implore you to take immediate action to resolve this situation expeditiously,” a statement signed by hundreds of associations read.
“This has now become an issue of both economic and national security. The strike will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, impacting businesses large and small that are not party to the negotiations, but rely upon the free flow of goods, both imports and exports, through these critical ports. These port closures mean that our farmers are not able to sell their crops to overseas markets, manufacturers are not able to receive critical components for manufacturing facilities, retailers won’t be able to get their holiday merchandise in time and many other industries will be negatively impacted. The longer a strike occurs, the more severe the economic impact and the longer it will take to recover.”
Concerns
The ILA leadership has maintained its members would honor their pledge to handle all military cargo, even with the coast-wide strike beginning this week. The union is also continuing to work passenger cruise vessels.
“Dating back to World War I, the ILA was always proud to note that ILA also means ‘love America,’ when it came to its ‘No Strike Pledge’ in handling U.S. military cargo at all its ports,” said ILA President Harold Daggett, who served in the U.S. Navy. “We continue our pledge to never let down our brave American troops for their valor and service and we will proudly continue to work all military shipments beyond October 1st, even if we are engaged in a strike.”
Golden Triangle consumers are not likely to experience initial consequences from the strike, numerous supply chain experts have indicated, adding major retailers stocked up on goods in anticipation of a work stoppage.
One potential immediate impact could be the supply of perishable food items.
According to the Houston Chronicle, wages and automation are key issues behind the strike. The ILA is seeking a ban on automated cranes, gates and container-moving trucks.
The United States Maritime Alliance represents employers of the maritime industry responsible for the transportation and handling of cargo shipped to and from the United States. Since 1977, leaders say USMX and its predecessor organizations had successfully negotiated 10 new contracts with the ILA without a coast‐wide work stoppage before this week.
