Officials at 14 ports along the US East and Gulf Coasts were making last-minute preparations on Monday for a likely labor strike that could drag on the US economy just ahead of a presidential election.
Business group United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced late in the day that counter-offers had been exchanged with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), but tens of thousands of dockworkers could still walk off the job after midnight at the expiration of their six-year contract unless more concrete progress was made.
“While we have encouraged both sides to reach an amicable agreement at the bargaining table, all signs are that there will be a strike,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said Monday at a news conference where New York officials sought to reassure consumers that they would not lose access to food and other essential goods.
A walkout would be the ILA’s first since 1977. …