news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

financial news agency, october 4 (editor zhou ziyi)on thursday (october 3) local time, american dockworkers agreed to end a three-day strike. the strike temporarily paralyzed trade in the eastern united states and the gulf coast and became a major factor affecting the direction of the u.s. election.

on thursday, the international longshoremen's association (ila) and employers' group united states maritime association (usmx) said in a joint statement that a preliminary agreement on wages had been reached between port workers and operators and that they had agreed to extend the main contract to january 15, 2025, to provide additional discussion time for negotiations on a new long-term labor contract and to resolve other outstanding issues.

ila chairman scott cowan announced that "the strike is over" and the union also said that the port will restart work on friday morning (october 4) local time.

provisional agreement

the tentative agreement reached by labor and management includes a 62% salary increase over the next six years. the increase will increase workers' average hourly wages from $39 to $63.

although this wage increase does not meet the union's expectations, the ila union has been seeking a 77% wage increase, and the employer group usmx has previously increased its proposed wage increase to nearly 50%. however, with only a few weeks before the election, the agreement gives the ila and usmx more time to resolve more contentious issues without threatening the u.s. economy.

the tentative agreement ends the largest shutdown in nearly 50 years. the strike has disrupted shipments of everything from food to cars at dozens of ports from maine to texas and could lead to shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, leading to a backlog of ships docked outside major ports.

this three-day strike is not only a simple labor dispute, but also a severe challenge to the stability of the global supply chain. it has seriously affected the operations of 36 ports and caused huge economic losses.

it is estimated that the daily losses to the u.s. economy range from 3 billion to 5 billion u.s. dollars, causing huge trouble to related companies and consumers.

the national retail federation said in a statement that "the decision to end the strike and allow east coast and gulf coast ports to reopen is good news for the u.s. economy. the sooner they reach a (final) agreement, the the better for all american families.”

avoid crisis

it was during the three-day port strike that americans began to panic about potential shortages. some anxious shoppers are stocking up on goods, especially in areas affected by hurricane helene.

it is reported that a local national grocery store chain in the united states has also set purchase restrictions on paper towels, toilet paper and water, and the shelves of toilet paper and paper towels in many supermarkets are also empty. this has increased pressure on us president joe biden to intervene.

however short-lived the new deal is, it ultimately eases public panic and removes a potential political problem for the white house and vice president kamala harris' campaign that would have forced harris to face a prolonged strike. a crisis that fuels inflation.

the new agreement unplugs a political time bomb for us democrats, who cannot afford a prolonged strike because they need all the union support they can get and a strike will make voters unhappy with the economy.

president biden sided with the unions after the deal was reached, saying in a statement thursday, “i want to thank union workers, container lines and port operators for their patriotic actions in reopening our ports and ensuring availability of critical supplies for recovery and reconstruction from hurricane helene. ”

however, chicago supply chain data company project44 said that although the strike lasted only three days, the backlog of goods may take more than a month to clear. the strike has prevented unloading, and it will be some time before a full reopening occurs.

meanwhile, dozens of ships carrying containers and cars are anchored off the coast of major trading hubs such as new york, south carolina and virginia.