NORFOLK, Va. — The Port of Virginia is preparing for a shutdown ahead of a looming longshoremen strike Oct. 1.
As News 3 has reported, the strike would impact ports from Maine to Texas.
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“They’re definitely worried," truck driver Donte Quarrie said about the people he knows who work at ports.
He doesn't do a lot of work at ports and is hopeful the strike, if it happens, won’t have a big impact on him, though.
“If I was an owner-operator, then I would be worried because they have to pay for their gas, insurance," said Quarrie.
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Herman Buckner is another truck driver who has friends who do a lot of work at ports and he worries about them.
“They’re not going to be able to pay their bills," Buckner said.
Even so, he supports unions and said the looming strike highlights a bigger issue.
“You look at our economy, you look at how much things cost. Everybody’s got to get pay raise. That’s biggest problem in the United States right now, not getting adequate pay raises for the cost of living," Buckner said.
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The International Longshoremen Association, which represents the workers who get cargo on and off ships at ports, is negotiating a new contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance.
The union is asking for more money for workers as well as restrictions on how automation can be used at ports.
The ILA shared the following statement with News 3:
Even though the ILA's members worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure that the nation's commerce flowed and continue to sacrifice time with their own families so that goods can arrive in the homes of other families throughout the world, still, due to corporate greed, employers refuse to compensate the ILA's members fairly. Over the last several years, the net revenues of these companies have grown astronomically from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars while ILA members' wage increases do not even cover the cost of inflation. The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation, and fairness in a world in which corporations are dead set on replacing hardworking people with automation. Employers push automation under the guise of safety, but it is really about cutting labor costs to increase their already exceptionally high profits. As the last six years have demonstrated, automation cannot outperform the skilled men and women of the ILA. Automation of our nations' ports should be a concern for everyone; the truth is, robots do not pay taxes and they do not spend money in their communities. The ILA will continue to fight until its members receive the fair contract they deserve.
If the two sides don’t reach agreement by Oct. 1, the ILA plans to strike. That would cause the Port of Virginia and many others to shut down until the strike is over.
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“The amount of sleep that we’ve had this week has not been a lot," said Jackie Fabrycki, an agent for Commercial Transportation in Virginia Beach.
She has 12 contracted drivers and is worried about the strike. She said she’s doing everything she can to prepare.
“If they can hook to a dry van, and I’ve got feelers out there as well and we have other company entities that do flatbeds and dry vans. If there’s something that we can do to hook them up ands run domestically, I’ll be right behind them," Fabrycki explained.
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Thursday, cargo was going in and out of the Port of Virginia as usual. But starting at 8 a.m. Sept. 30, that flow could begin to come to a halt.
That’s when the Port of Virginia will stop inbound train deliveries if a strike hasn’t been avoided by then.
Ships must set sail by 1 p.m. By 6 p.m. Sept. 30, all work at the port will stop until further notice.
Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said the strike would be very bad for Virginia and the nation and needs to be avoided.
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“Sometimes, the best way for the federal government to be involved is not to formally mediate but just to jawbone both the Maritime Alliance and the longshoreman about trying to close the gap and avoid a strike," said Kaine. "While I can’t say this for certain I feel pretty darn confident, my intuition tells me, that sort of formal discussion with one side and the other is likely happening already."
President Biden has said the federal government will not intervene to prevent a strike.
News 3 has reached out to the ILA for comment, but the organization has not responded to multiple requests to comment.
