USA Port workers on US East Coast end strike

The strike by tens of thousands of port workers on the east coast of the USA is over for the time being after three days. The employers promised an increase in income of more than 60 percent.

Tens of thousands of port workers on the US East Coast have stopped their strike after just a few days. The current contract has been extended until January 15 in order to continue negotiations, according to the ILA union. The large-scale work stoppage had triggered concerns about supply bottlenecks.

"The strike is over," local union leader Scott Cowan in Baltimore told CBS. According to him, the union intends to accept the offer of a 61.5 percent pay rise over the six-year term of the contract.

In addition, measures are to be negotiated in the coming months to prevent job losses through automation.

The workers went on strike on the night of October 1. Even a new employer offer with an income increase of almost 50 percent did not deter them.

Panic buying and high costs

In the USA, the strike triggered panic buying of toilet paper. Shoppers reported empty shelves or dwindling supplies in large stores such as Walmart or Costco on online platforms - very similar to the situation at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. Yet more than 90 percent of toilet paper sold in the USA is produced in the country itself.

The US government also called on the parties to reach a quick agreement and end the strike to prevent food shipped in containers from spoiling. Among other things, a large proportion of the bananas sold in the USA reach the country via East Coast ports.

Around half of the container handling in US foreign trade is handled via East Coast ports. The strike by tens of thousands of members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is estimated to have cost several hundred million dollars per day.

In addition, it takes seven to ten days per strike day to clear the congestion in the ports, said Ryan Petersen, head of the logistics company Flexport, to the TV station CNBC. As the strike had been foreseeable for months, many companies had already built up stocks for at least a few weeks.

The ILA members load and unload ships and are responsible for the maintenance of port equipment. The union points to the billions in profits in container shipping. According to the Wall Street Journal, it demanded a 77 percent increase in income in the negotiations.