Pressure is mounting for the White House to intervene in contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the Unites States Maritime Alliance (USMX) after the ILA commenced the first coastwide strike in nearly half a century at midnight on Tuesday, October 1. Affected stakeholders have warned the strike will result in over $2 billion in daily losses as more than 68% of all containerized exports and more than 56% of containerized imports flow through East and Gulf Coast ports.

As the strike convened, ILA President Harold Daggett joined thousands of fellow members outside the gates at Maher Terminal in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was joined by tens of thousands of other ILA members setting up picket lines going up at all the major ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The ILA said intends for the demonstrations to continue round the clock, 24/7, for as long as it takes for USMX to meet its demands.

In an update Monday, USMX said it had traded offers with ILA and was “hopeful” about negotiating a new six-year contract.

“Our offer would increase wages by nearly 50%, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans, strengthen our health care options, and retain the current language around automation and semi-automation,” USMX stated.

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On Tuesday, however, Daggett stated: “We are now demanding $5.00 an hour increase in wages for each of the six years of a new ILA-USMX Master Contract. Plus, we want absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and we are demanding all Container Royalty monies go to the ILA.”

Following comments from President Biden on Sunday that he will not intervene in the strike at East and Gulf Coast ports, calls to for the administration to intervene have increased.

On Monday, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons asked Biden to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which would force ports to resume operations while negotiations continue.

“The president can protect manufacturers and consumers by exercising his authority, and we hope he will act quickly,” Timmons stated.

Numerous agriculture industries have joined the call, warning the situation threatens business and food security.

U.S. Meat Export Federation Vice President for Economic Analysis Erin Borror said this week that the strike would impose “significant economic impact” on the U.S. meat and livestock industries.

“These East Coast and Gulf ports have accounted directly for nearly $3 billion worth of U.S. red meat exports in the first seven months of the year. And so that equates to roughly $100 million or more worth of red meat exports per week going out of these ports,” Borror said. “As we learned from the COVID shipping issues, when there is one disruption in the shipping or in the supply chain, there are ripple or domino effects. And so, we really need to think about the impacts indirectly on all U.S. red meat exports, which were valued at over $11 billion in the first seven months of the year.”

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American Feed Industry Association President and CEO Constance Cullman said failure of the USMX and ILA to reach a labor agreement or of the Biden administration to intervene before the contract deadline now means that U.S. animal food manufacturers face a dire trading situation that mirrors – or could be worse than – the days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The lack of compromise not only puts these 45,000 dockworkers out of work – it also threatens the livelihoods of thousands of dedicated individuals throughout the animal food industry,” she explained, adding that reduced access to imports of essential ingredients, packaging materials, equipment or other goods means production of animal food may be limited at best.

“The animal food industry relies heavily on the interdependence of smooth shipping routes and has spent years building relationships with foreign buyers and sellers, yet overnight, could lose the ability to access or do business with international markets.”

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Further, she said costs incurred in finding alternative options will be felt all along the supply chain.

“The Biden administration needs to tell the two parties that walking off a short dock is not a solution to their labor squabbles; the entire U.S. economy and our human and animal food supply depends on them getting back to work,” Cullman said.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) warned that the disruption could also have a devastating impact on American dairy farmers and exporters who rely on the smooth functioning of these ports.

“The administration must act now to bring both sides back to the table. The stakes are too high,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “This strike puts the livelihoods of American dairy farmers and the strength of our supply chain at risk. The administration needs to step in and end the strike before further damage is done.”

The U.S. dairy industry relies heavily on ports to maintain access to global markets. In 2023, over 530,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of dairy products, valued at $1.7 billion, were shipped through East and Gulf ports, accounting for 21% of total U.S. dairy exports by volume. The ongoing strike directly jeopardizes $32 million in dairy exports per week, with additional indirect consequences looming as exporters are forced to reroute shipments and face rising transportation costs.

“Global customers depend on the reliability of U.S. dairy products,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “Delays caused by this strike not only risk damaging those relationships but also severely impact perishable dairy products that require timely delivery. The negotiating parties need to come together to find a resolution and ensure port operations resume as soon as possible.”

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said that even as the strike threatens to paralyze traffic of goods, “the United States is fortunate that it can meet its nutritional needs without importing food.”

“America’s farmers grow a diverse range of food items that ensure the nation’s food independence. Rest assured, America’s food supply is strong, and store shelves will continue to be stocked with domestically raised products,” he stated.

Even so, Duvall urged the parties to come to an agreement as farmers and ranchers rely on international partners to sell billions of dollars of home-grown food to markets around the world. “A disruption at the ports could leave perishable food rotting at the docks, which threatens the livelihood of farmers.”