As FGGAM reported yesterday, the International Longshoremen’s Association (“ILA”) union, which represents 45,000 port workers and the United States Maritime Alliance (“USMX”) employer group, planned to begin a strike today (10/1/2024).
REUTERS is reporting that the ILA union has begun a strike early today, which is the union’s first large-scale work stoppage in nearly 50 years. The strike is halting the flow of about half the nation’s ocean shipping, following failed negotiations for a new labor contract guaranteeing workers higher wages.
The strike blocks everything from food to automobile shipments across dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, in a disruption analysts warned will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs, and potentially stoke inflation. The USMX issued a statement yesterday (9/30/2024) asserting that it offered to increase wages by nearly 50%, but the union is pushing for a 61.5% pay increase, according to CNBC.
The REUTERS article may be read in full HERE.
Fox News is reporting that the ILA union will exempt cruise ships and military cargoes from the strike, so as to prevent disruptions to travelers’ schedules and to protect national security.
President Joe Biden, whose administration has tried to facilitate talks between the two sides, said that he won’t use a federal labor law known as the Taft-Hartley Act to intervene in the strike. Under that law, Biden could take action that results in an 80-day ‘cooling off’ period for negotiations to resume while workers are back at work.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest trade group representing American businesses, urged Biden in a letter to invoke Taft-Hartley to “protect our economy” by avoiding a work stoppage.
The Fox News article may be read in full HERE.
Let’s continue to pray that an amicable agreement is reached soon, as the U.S. needs the peace of God right now, not more political and financial angst. Following the USMX’ offer yesterday to increase wages by nearly 50% – which was rejected by the union with no counter offer submitted – it seems that the union may be overreaching; however, what is certain is that wisdom is the key to fairness.
The bible has a powerful admonition for us to control the desire for equity (in a worldly sense) and to avoid becoming pretentious in self-righteousness:
Ecclesiastes 7:15-16 (Amplified Bible)
“I have seen everything during my [fleeting] days of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in [spite of] his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives a long life in [spite of] his wickedness. Do not be excessively righteous [like those given to self-conceit], and do not be overly wise (pretentious)—why should you bring yourself to ruin [emphasis mine]?”