HOUSTON — In the comments of several videos on TikTok people want to know what supplies they should stock up on if the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) cannot reach a deal before the current labor contract ends on Sept. 30. It's been more than four decades since the union went on strike along the Gulf and East Coast. The KHOU 11 Verify Team found that the strike in 1977 ended after 45 days, netting workers an additional 80 cents per hour over three years.
A viewer wants to know if ports are preparing people for a shortage of imported supplies.
THE QUESTION
Are Gulf & East Coast ports alerting the public about the potential impacts of a dockworkers' strike?
THE SOURCES
Texas Department of Transportation
Margret Kidd, Associate Professor at the University of Houston
Port of Houston
Kimberly Curth, Press Secretary, The Port of New Orleans
Maryland Port Administration, Operates the Port of Baltimore
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), Operates the Port of Boston/Conley Terminal
International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
U.S. Maritime Alliance
THE ANSWER
Yes, Gulf and East Coast ports are alerting the public about the potential impacts of a dockworkers' strike.
WHAT WE FOUND
The KHOU 11 Verify Team checked with several ports that have posted messages about the impact a potential dockworkers' strike will have on operations. According to the Port of Boston, import cargo needs to be picked up ASAP. If there is a shutdown of operations for dockworkers, the imported goods will not be able to be picked up from the port.
The Port of Houston continues to update its operations if a strike should happen. Online, the port says they will be open to handle some maintenance, but any operation that involves dockworkers will come to a halt. The Port of Houston is one of the busiest ports affected by a possible labor strike. Houston tops the nation in the tonnage of material. University of Houston Associate Professor Margret Kidd says, "The reason for that is we ship a lot through our port, a lot of commodities oil, chemicals, resins, steel."
Some people in the comments of the social media videos, are wondering what supplies they need to stock up on should the strike last for a while. According to Kidd, there is no need to panic buy items, "This is not going to be like COVID, where there really were huge delays. We could see some delays up to several weeks to several months."
The current strike only impacts ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. The West Coast dockworkers' union backs its East Coast counterparts in the efforts to help increase wages and address workplace concerns. The West Coast ports could see a large uptick in the amount of cargo, but Kidd said it won't be to the extent of what some think.
"It's not realistic to think that with 35 ports closed, that carriers will go to the Panama Canal and line up on West Coast ports, because you don't have the landside infrastructure to process that quantity of trade. I'll give you an example like the Port of Baltimore, which processes about 850,000 cars a year," she said.
The Port of Baltimore, said, "The ILA has assured us that cruise operations and military cargo will not be affected if there is a work stoppage."
Ports are not involved in the negotiations with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), rather the ILA is negotiating with the U.S. Maritime Alliance which is the port employer.