SC faces first major port strike in half century, pickets in place in Charleston (2024)

With just hours left on their labor contract, dockworkers at the Port of Charleston were gearing up Sept. 30 for a major strike set to start overnight that would disrupt the maritime industry supply chain from the Northeast to South Carolina to the Gulf Coast.

Charles Brave, president ofInternational Longshoremen's Association Local 1422, said his organization was planning a labor rally for late Monday night at its Morrison Drive union hall on the peninsula.

Afterward, he said, picket lines would be set up at three of the S.C. State Ports Authority's shipping terminals shortly after midnight.

Brave declined to comment further ahead of the expected work stoppage, the first for the ILA on the East Coast since 1977.

The union signaled over the weekend that 45,000 of its members would walk off the job, kicking off a far-flung strike likely to shut down 36 seaports from Maine to Texas that handle roughly half of the goods shipped into and out of the U.S.

The union is seeking higher wages and a ban on the use of automated cranes, gates and container-handling vehicles required to load and offload cargo.

A last-minute agreement that would prevent a work stoppage was unlikely but still possible. The ILA said over the weekend that members would hit the picket lines at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

Butthe U.S. Maritime Alliance, known as USMX, which is on the other side of the negotiating table, said late Monday afternoon that both sides have moved from their previous positions. It also asked the union to extend the current contract.

The strike threatens to significantly snarl local and national supply chains, potentially leading to higher prices and shipment delays, depending on how long it lasts.

Before the USMX released its statement late Monday, the union continued to blame the alliance, which represents major shipping lines and other maritime interests, for blocking"the path" toward a resolution before the contract deadline.

Talks between the two sides broke off in June.

"The ocean carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA longshore workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject," the union said in a written statement. "ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing."

The union also accused the shippers of “gouging their customers" with sizeable price increases for containers over recent weeks that will result in higher costs for U.S. consumers.

If drawn out, the strike would force businesses to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for the peak holiday shopping season — potentially delaying deliveries of goods ranging from toys and artificial Christmas trees to cars, coffee and vegetables.

Americans could also face higher prices as retailers feel the supply squeeze, all ahead of a tight presidential election.

The ripple effect would extend to truck drivers and rail carriers.

"The economy suffers, and that includes disrupting a ton of things and higher costs in an already inflationary period, particularly for marginal businesses," said Rick Todd, president and CEO of the South Carolina Trucking Association.

He said well-run and well-financed transportation companies "should be able to weather the storm" but that smaller "owner-operator" businesses that are already stretched thin will bear the brunt of the strike.

"They suffer worst through the intense cost- and rate-pressure environment like we have now and have had for a while," Todd said, noting that "thousands" of owner-operators have left the industry. "They can’t go for long without work, and they will never get this back."

President Joe Biden on Sunday said "no" when asked over the weekend whether he planned to intervene in the potential work stoppage.

"Because it's collective bargaining, I don't believe in Taft-Hartley," Biden said referring to a 1947 law that allows the White House to intervene in labor disputes that threaten the nation's health or safety.

At a briefing Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that the administration had never invoked the act to break a strike and is "not considering doing so now." She added that top officials were still urging both parties to return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott called on the ILA to temporarily pause its strike plan, citing the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene across the Southeast.

"As Americans, it is our duty to help those in need access shelter, food, water, and electricity," the South Carolina Republican from Charleston said in a written statement Monday. "A strike would greatly disrupt our supply chain and economy, only worsening the pain of those who have already lost everything.”

The State Ports Authority, which is not represented by the USMX, declined to comment about its strike contingency plans.

The maritime agency on Monday referred to a Sept. 20 statement to its customers about the steps it was taking to move as much cargo from its terminals as possible before the union's Oct. 1 contract deadline.

"Following any break in operations that might occur, SC Ports and our maritime industry partners would marshal every resource possible to facilitate the swift recovery of business," the authority said. "Measures would be implemented based on terminal operating conditions and need, as well as the duration of any potential interruption."

Two container ships, the Columbine Maersk and the ZIM Sammy Ofer, were scheduled to be loaded and offloaded Tuesday at the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant, according to the SPA's vessel calendar. It's among the three Charleston-area sites where the ILA members were planning to picket.