How Will the Dockworker Strike Affect Maine, New Hampshire, & Massachusetts?

Many people woke up to the news on Tuesday morning that 45,000 dockworkers with the International Longshoremen’s Association had gone on strike.

According to an article on the WMTW website, the contract between the ILA and the ports expired at midnight.

While there have not been reports of picketers here in New England, WMTW is reporting that there are groups of picketers at ports in Philidelphia and Houston.  The strike is the first since 1977, and it affects 36 ports across the country.

As of Monday, the International Longshoremen's Association and the ports were still negotiating a new contract.  Some of the sticking points include compensation for the workers and the amount of automation that the ports are using.

What is a Longshoreman?

According to Offshore Injury Firm, the typical job for a longshoreman is to load and unload freighters.

Their typical duties include loading/unloading vessels, operating heavy machinery (like cranes and forklifts), checking cargo manifests to ensure that the paperwork matches the actual cargo, and inspecting cargo for damage.

How Will the Longshoremen Strike Affect New England?

The workers of the ILA handle massive amounts of cargo each day.  This cargo includes raw materials, food products, electronics, clothing, and more.

With the workers on strike, these items will not be loaded onto ships and fully loaded freighters will not be unloaded.

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As a result, if the strike goes on for more than a few days, we could start to see shortages of certain goods.  Additionally, these shortages could lead to a bump in inflation.

Hopefully, the strike will be resolved within the next few days.