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East and Gulf Coast dockworkers could resume their strike on Jan. 15 if a deal isn't reached.. The union representing dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports walked away from the negotiating table with port employers this week over concerns about automation as the two sides face a mid-January deadline to finalize a deal and prevent the resumption of a strike.. The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port employers, were on their second day of talks this week when the ILA union left negotiations ... the ILA union is refusing to agree to...

HOUSTON — The union for 45,000 United States dockworkers agreed to suspend their strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract, according to an Associated Press source. U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down Tuesday when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977. The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and halted operations at ports from Brownsville to Boston. The International Longshoremen’s Association wants significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks used in the loading or unloading of...

Vice President Kamala Harris sided Wednesday with dockworkers who launched a massive strike this week that threatens to cripple the economy. “This strike is about fairness,” Harris said. “Foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits and executive compensation has grown. The Longshoremen, who play a vital role transporting essential goods across America, deserve a fair share of these record profits.” Harris also threw in a barb at her opponent, accusing former President Donald Trump of making “empty promises” to workers and promising that she will “have workers’ backs” and fight for an “opportunity economy.” “Donald Trump, on the other hand,...

On Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo — who was appearing in her personal capacity as a surrogate for the Harris campaign — stated that she has “not been very focused on” where a potential port strike could have the biggest impact and hasn’t “been particularly involved” in the strike issue that she acknowledged “could be incredibly disruptive to commerce.” Co-host Becky Quick asked, “I realize you’re here as a surrogate for the vice president’s campaign, but there’s so much news of the day that I feel we have to ask you about. I wanted to...

Unionized dockworkers at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports went on strike early Tuesday amid an impasse in negotiations over a new contract with a group representing port employers

With the West Coast ports labor dispute involving 13,600 unionized dockworkers inflicting pain on 318 million Americans by causing billions of dollars a day in losses to the U.S. economy settling yesterday, now 30,000 unionized refinery workers across America intend to play the same leverage game by cutting off two-thirds of all U.S. diesel and gasoline supplies. Just after US Labor Secretary Tom Perez took to the television circuit to tout how the Obama Administration believes the US economy can “recover quickly” from the nine months-long port turmoil, the United Steel Workers (USW) launched the first nationwide oil refinery strike...