ARA Joins Coalition Letter to President Biden to End Ports Strike
Oct 02 2024
The U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports were reopened on Friday after members of the International Longshoremen’s Association ended a three-day strike. It appears a tentative deal has been reached to increase wages for about 62% over six years for dock workers and port operators. The agreement extends the master contract between the union and port operators until January 15, 2025, allowing negotiations to continue.
ARA joined several coalition letters sent to President Biden before and during the strike urging President Biden to take action to expeditiously resolve the situation. The ports will now have to deal with a backlog of cargo that had begun to disrupt supply chains, including perishable products.
ARA is pleased the ports have re-opened as a long-term shutdown would have caused severe economic harm to an agricultural economy already dealing with the devastation from Hurricane Helene.