BAYONNE, New Jersey — Striking workers at Port Jersey have no intention of backing down from their first major work stoppage in decades in the face of political pressure and worries about the economy.
“Even though the ILA’s members worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure that the nation’s commerce flowed and continue to sacrifice time with their own families so that goods can arrive in the homes of other families throughout the world, due to corporate greed, the employers refused to compensate the ILA’s members fairly,” said Joseph Pasculli, International Longshoremen’s Association strike captain, in a prepared statement.
The rest of the workers refused to speak with the Washington Examiner, but some had been set up at the site since midnight Tuesday and expected to stay through the night.
They were set up at small tent camps, grilling out, playing music, waving International Longshoremen’s Association flags, and hoisting signs with messages such as “machines don’t feed families. Support ILA workers” and “corporate greed vs. worker rights. ILA demands fairness.”
“The net revenues of these [shipping] companies have grown astronomically, from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, while the ILA members’ wage increases do not even cover the cost of inflation,” Pasculli said. “The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation, and fairness in a world in which corporations are dead-set on replacing hard-working people with automation.”
The strike began after months of negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance broke down. Transportation analysts at J.P. Morgan estimate that a strike by longshoremen would cost the economy $5 billion per day, or roughly 6% of U.S. gross domestic product.
“I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means,” ILA President Harold Daggett said as the work stoppage began. “Nobody does.”
In New Jersey, breathtaking views of New York City’s Manhattan skyline are visible across the water, a reminder of the economic impact that could be felt by millions of people if the strike is drawn out and shipment delays pile up.
While the vice president debate, which took place just miles away from Port Jersey, seemed far from mind for the longshoremen, the strike could also have electoral repercussions. One major cause of the strike is the ILA said its raises have not kept up with inflation, an issue former President Donald Trump is blaming on the Biden-Harris administration and promising to tackle if elected.
“[President Joe] Biden and his proxies are stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Dan Bowling, a visiting professor at Georgia State University’s law school who teaches about labor union matters, previously told the Washington Examiner.
President Joe Biden has pledged not to use his legal authority under the Taft-Hartley Act to end the strike.
Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement Wednesday saying she supports the strike and arguing that Trump does not.
“Foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits and executive compensation has grown,” Harris said. “The Longshoremen, who play a vital role transporting essential goods across America, deserve a fair share of these record profits.”
“Donald Trump, on the other hand, wants to pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize,” she added. “As president, he blocked overtime benefits for millions of workers, he appointed union busters to the National Labor Relations Board — and just recently, he said striking workers should be fired.”
Unions typically support Democrats with both money and resources, but Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), are looking to eat into that support with a policy platform they say will boost manufacturing and blue collar jobs in the U.S.
Vance made headlines by walking a picket line with the United Auto Worker last year, a move that cut against decades of conservative orthodoxy.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is supporting the ILA strike, did not endorse Harris this year after backing the Democrat in every presidential election between 2000 and 2020. It released internal polling that found almost 60% of its members back Trump.
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In 2022, Biden prevented a rail workers strike by convening a Presidential Emergency Board under the Railway Labor Act of 1926, and Congress used its authority to impose an agreement on the two sides. At the time, Biden was criticized by some pro-union figures for the move.
The ILA strike began at the expiration of a six-year agreement between the U.S. Maritime Alliance and the ILA and is affecting more than 45,000 union members at 36 ports between Maine and Texas. ILA leadership is demanding a 77% increase in salary over six years, and it wants safeguards against automation technology, which it said could put its members out of work.