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The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), 85,000 members strong, has launched its first strike since 1977 after weeks of deadlocked negotiations over a six-year labor agreement.
Just a short drive from the New York skyline, giant cranes, containers, and machinery stand motionless behind closed gates.
ILA said the walkout was the first "coast wide strike in almost 50 years." The shutdown would halt shipments at 36 ports, impacting an array of goods from food to electronics and potentially costing the US economy billions of dollars a week.
"It's not just money, it's our future," declared Herbert Hall, a 76-year-old vice president of the dockworkers' union. Speaking from a picket line outside the APM terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he raises his voice over blaring music and honking traffic.
"We're talking about machines, artificial intelligence, and all that stuff. We want job security." The port, like dozens along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, has ground to a halt.
Around 400 strikers have gathered, some lounging in camping chairs, sipping coffee, and enjoying free burgers from a food truck. Union logos adorn their jackets and T-shirts, while picket signs voice their concerns: "Machines don't feed families," "Profit over people is unacceptable," "Automation harms families."
Jonita Carter, a docker for 23 years with the Maher company, emphasizes their dedication: "We worked during COVID, we never stopped. We moved the world." "If it's zero degrees, I'm outside. If it's 40 degrees, I'm outside. We don't ask for much. We're asking for a small portion, which we rightly deserve."
The strikers' main priorities are better wages and guarantees against automation. While some protections were included in the recently expired labor agreement, and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) -- representing port employers -- has pledged to renew them, union members find these insufficient.
Despite USMX announcing resumed talks and offering a 50 percent pay rise, the ILA rejected it.
As the strike continues, workers remain resolute.
Lewis Musonye
