US dockworkers launch massive 'coast-wide' strike ahead of presidential election

NEWS WIRES

1 October 2024 at 8:25 am·1-min read

Tens of thousands of dockworkers across the US went on strike Tuesday in a bid for higher wages and protection against automation. The mass industrial action has shut down shipments at 36 ports and threatens to cost the nation's economy billions of dollars every week, potentially creating a drag on the world's largest economy just over a month ahead of the US presidential election.

Tens of thousands of workers at major ports on the US East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday in action that could drag on the world's largest economy just ahead of the November presidential election.

The International Longshoremen's Association (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.

"We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve," Harold Daggett, who heads the 85,000-member union, said in a statement.

President Joe Biden has ruled out federal intervention, but business lobbies are sure to amplify calls for action if the strike drags out.

(AFP)

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