The 45,000 dockworkers who went on strike Tuesday for the first time in decades at 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas may wield the upper hand in their standoff with port operators over wages and the use of automation.
The union has demanded a 77-percent pay increase and protections against using automation at the ports.
the US Maritime Alliance had offered a pay increase of almost 50-percent and triple contributions into workers’ retirement funds.
J.P. Morgan estimates that the strike could cost the economy $3.8-billion to $4.5-billion per day.
Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see immediate impacts from the strike, but if it lasts more than a few weeks it will cause problems for the nation’s supply chain.