Is an East and Gulf Coast Port Strike Inevitable and What Will it Mean to the Collision Industry?

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is planning a September 4-5 session to present its proposed contract terms to its wage scale committee, go over their final contract demands and, if necessary, prepare its members for a potential strike at East and Gulf Coast ports if an agreement can’t be reached before the current agreement expires on September 30th.   

“My membership is 100% behind the ILA leadership team, and they know we want to deliver the best contract for them,” said Harold Daggett, Chief Negotiator for the ILA. “If that means we have to go out on strike October 1, they are ready to ‘hit the streets’ if our demands are not met.” 

How Likely is a Strike? 

It appears the ILA is motivated by the union’s discovery in July of an autonomous processing system being used to process trucks at Alabama’s Port of Mobile, among other shipping hubs. The ILA claims that the use of an “auto-gate” system violated the union’s existing deal with the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. (USMX).  Because of this discovery, the ILA halted contract discussions immediately, and vowed to not resume labor talks again until the issue is resolved. The union has not returned to the bargaining table since.  

Further highlighting the gravity of this dispute, the ILA has taken an additional, significant step: no extension offered. The union has formally notified employer groups that it will not extend the current labor agreement beyond its September 30th expiration date. This move eliminates the possibility of ports continuing to operate under the old contract while negotiations for a new one are ongoing. Strike deadline: if no agreement is reached by September 30th, East and Gulf Coast port workers are poised to strike beginning October 1st.   

The Impact 

The potential impact of an East and Gulf Coast strike will be felt across the U.S. as seven of the ten busiest U.S. ports would be targets of the strike. For the auto industry, new car shipments of Asian and European vehicles would be impacted. Salvage vehicle shipment containers from U.S. salvage auction companies bound for overseas purchasers would be unable to be shipped. OEM components for U.S-based assembly plants would not be able to be unloaded at ports near the southern assembly plants, causing production line disruptions.  Aftermarket parts shipped from Taiwan would have to be re-routed to ports that were still operating and then trucked to the distribution centers, causing delays.    

As the deadline approaches, the collision industry must prepare for potential supply chain disruptions. Staying informed about negotiations and developing contingency plans will be crucial in navigating this uncertain period.  PartsTrader will continue to keep our followers and customers updated, so be sure to keep an eye out as we learn more.