"We worked, we died." New Orleans longshoremen fighting for respect in strike, they say
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About 700 New Orleans members of the International Longshoremen's Association went on strike Tuesday, part of a national walk-out that'll snarl international supply chains.
Why it matters: A strike that lasts more than a few days is likely to raise prices and create shortages reminiscent of the pandemic just as the U.S. heads into the holidays — and a presidential election.
The big picture: The strike is impacting all container operations at 14 major ports stretching from Maine to Texas, including the Port of New Orleans.
- It's the ILA's first strike in nearly 50 years, and the organization represents about 85,000 longshoremen, though it's not yet clear how many of that number will join the picket lines.
- The union rejected the United States Maritime Alliance's final proposal Monday.
- "The ILA intends for the demonstrations to continue round the clock, 24/7, for as long as it takes for United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to meet the demands of ILA rank-and-file members," the union Tuesday wrote on Facebook.
Zoom in: About 100 longshoremen picketed Tuesday at the Tchoupitoulas Street entrance to the Port of New Orleans, shouting "union power" and "no contract, no work" as they hoisted ILA signs into the air amid car and truck honks.
- At least some workers had been at it since midnight, said ILA Local No. 3000 president Henry Glover Jr., and they planned to continue in shifts. As workers cycled in and out, they traded spots in festival chairs and dapped each other off in greeting.
- When a woman stopped by to offer Glover and his colleagues mutual aid assistance like free child care or food, he declined, saying, "I hope this strike doesn't go on long enough that our children need help."
What they're saying: "The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation, and fairness in a world in which corporations are dead set on replacing hard-working people with automation," reads an ILA statement.
- Holding a paper copy of the statement, Local No. 3000 vice president Harry Sims, a third-generation longshoreman, pointed a finger at the word "respect."
- "They should have respected the fact that we was there for them, and now, when it's our turn, we're not appreciated," Sims said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, "a lot of men died. … We worked, we died, we labored, and they made money off of us."
The other side: The USMX said in an online statement Monday evening it had "traded counteroffers related to wages" ahead of the strike.
- "Our offer would increase wages by nearly 50 percent, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans, strengthen our health care options, and retain the current language around automation and semi-automation," per the statement.
State of play: The Port of New Orleans remained open through the weekend for shippers and truck companies "in an effort to minimize supply chain disruptions," according to a Port NOLA statement, in anticipation of a strike.
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