FOX Business’ Lydia Hu reports from the picket line in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and talks to dockworkers about why they’re demanding higher wages.
US port workers are beginning to speak out on the picket line, providing a better understanding of the key issues union members are advocating.
“I started 27 years ago and my wages only went up $25 over 27 years,” Joe Mosquera told FOX Business’ Lydia Hu outside his workplace in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on “Mornings with Maria.”
“So for me, I believe we’ve gotten less than we’ve deserved in the past. So now is the time,” he added.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which represents 45,000 port workers, began its first strike since 1977 after its six-year contract with the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port employers, expired on Monday the night.
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Negotiations between the ILA and USMX have so far been deadlocked over the union’s demands for wage increases and compensation, as well as protections against automation at the ports.
ILA union member Joe Mosquera told FOX Business’ Lydia Hu that port workers will stay on the picket line “as long as it takes” to reach a “fair” deal. (FOX Business)
“We’re just asking to be paid fairly and for the goods we take care of every day. And we didn’t stop during COVID and we don’t want to stop now,” Mosquera explained. “We’re willing to come back as soon as they decide they’re going to give us a fair contract.”
USMX reportedly made a new offer to the ILA Monday afternoon that would raise wages by nearly 50% over the new contract, as well as triple employer contributions to retirement plans, better health care and would keep the language on automation in the agreement. Sources told FOX Business that ILA rejected the offer and did not counter.
“What’s fair is whatever my union president is willing to negotiate. But to be low, he’s not going to agree to that,” Mosquera said.
ILA president Harold Daggett claimed initial negotiation offers “didn’t work” but the group is “always willing to sit down when the right number is reached”.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee discusses the impact of the impending port shock on the economy and the Fed’s rate-cutting process.
“Right now, everything is off the table,” Daggett told FOX Business. “No one is talking right now. We got Congress to try to bring them to the table. And here we are now.”
Although the union president declined to reveal the exact number of wages, President Biden, whose administration has tried to facilitate talks between the two sides, has said he will not use a federal labor law known as the Act Taft-Hartley to intervene. on strike.
Under that law, Biden can take action that results in an 80-day “cooling off” period for negotiations to resume while workers are back on the job.
The US Chamber of Commerce, the largest trade group representing American businesses, asked Biden in a letter to call on Taft-Hartley to “protect our economy” by avoiding a work stoppage.
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Gristedes CEO John Catsmatidis shares his view on prices if the port workers’ strikes materialize, Biden’s decision not to intervene in the strikes, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo claiming she’s not focused on them.
But Mosquera remained adamant that union workers are committed to staying on the assembly line “for as long as it takes.”
“We want to protect our jobs. We want to protect our jobs for the future,” he said. “We want to make sure that everyone will have the opportunity to make a good living working at the port.”
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Eric Revell of FOX Business contributed to this report.