A dockworker strike in Boston is looming. Here’s what to know

Port workers in Boston and at every major port on the East Coast will most likely begin to strike starting 12:01 Tuesday morning, costing billions and potentially crippling the United States supply chain.

The International Longshoremen’s Association represents thousands of dock workers, including at the Port of Boston and Conley Terminal. Nearly 45,000 workers are expected to strike after the ILA’s master contract with the United States Maritime Alliance expires at midnight on Monday. 

The ILA represents workers at ports along the East Coast of the United States and along the Gulf Coast.

“ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing,” the ILA said in a statement Monday. “It’s disgraceful that most of these foreign-owned shipping companies are engaged in a ‘Make and Take’ operation: They want to make their billion-dollar profits at United States ports, and off the backs of American ILA longshore workers, and take those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates.”

The United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, represents carriers, terminal operators, and port associations. The alliance includes large shipping companies China-based COSCO Shipping, Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd, and Denmark-based Maersk.

How the Port of Boston will be affected

In Boston, MassPort warned their customers about the potential work stoppage. They told customers to pick up their import cargo as soon as possible, as cargo will be unavailable until the end of the potential strike.

Any refrigerated cargo won’t be monitored during the potential strike, and customers will cover the costs of electricity for those containers.

“Should there be a stoppage, Conley Terminal will be considering extending the gate hours once an agreement is reached to facilitate removing the imports from the terminal to alleviating a possible surge of cargo,” their notice said.

USMX: Offers are still being exchanged

USMX said Monday that counter offers were still exchanged related to wages and have requested an extension of the current contract “now that both sides have moved off their previous positions.

“We are hopeful that this could allow us to fully resume collective bargaining around the other outstanding issues – in an effort to reach an agreement,” USMX said in a statement.

The ILA is asking for increased wages and calling for control on automation. In June, the union halted talks after they said automation was being used at an Alabama port, which circumvents the master contract and cuts ILA jobs.

USMX said its offer will increase current wages by nearly 50 percent, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans, improve healthcare coverage, and “retain the current language around automation and semi-automation.”

The ILA is asking for a 77 percent wage increase for East Coast workers. East Coast workers make $39 an hour after six years on the job, which is significantly less than their West Coast counterparts who earn $55.85, according to CBS News. That will increase to $60.85 in 2027.

A one-week strike will cost union members and the USMX $2.1 billion between lost wages and lost goods, while a strike longer than that would impact the supply chain, retailers, and manufacturers, according to Anderson Economic Group.

They said others, including Business Roundtable, estimate billions lost per day, but they noted the strike will delay trade ports, not completely destroy trade.

“A port strike could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars a day, hurting American businesses, workers and consumers across the country,” Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said Friday. “We urge both sides to come to an agreement before Monday night’s deadline.”