RICHMOND, Va. -- On Virginia's coast, Port of Virginia workers are striking, calling for job security and better pay.
Earlier this week, WTKR captured International Longshoreman's Alliance members picketing in Hampton Roads, wielding signs that include messages against further automation of eastern ports.
Their strikes against the US Maritime Alliance, which represents port employers across the country, now have seven different port locations in Virginia at a standstill.
They include:
- Norfolk International Terminals
- Virginia International Gateway
- Newport News Marine Terminal
- Pinner Point Container Yard
- Reefer Service Area
- The Damage Annex
The Richmond Marine Terminal and Virginia Inland Port will operate normally, according to the Port of Virginia, but cargo operations will be impacted.
“So essentially what you’re doing is having ships sit full, or have ships that are ready to be loaded that aren’t being loaded, so nothing is moving through the port situation," said Jeff Smith, a professor of Supply Chain Management at VCU's School of Business.
"When it will start to really impact us, it depends on how long this lasts," Smith said. "If you’re talking two to three days, we’re fine. I know it costs us billions of dollars a day, but we’re still okay."
Smith said if the strike continues, consumers will start to see its impact first at the grocery store. Perishable items, particularly produce, could be limited.
Smith said the second stage of the strike could mean a delay in machine parts and electronics getting where they need to go.
"This is the scary point, for people," Smith said. "It could start to impact the holiday season. Because a lot of people are buying things, electronics that are coming from foreign lands, so it could move and delay that or limit supply so that prices go up."
Some stores are already starting to see panic-buying, with some shoppers resorting to COVID-era toilet paper hoarding.
Smith said it's not necessary.
“Every time that anything gets announced, people panic buy, there’s a run on gas, there’s a run on toilet paper and so everyone hoards it, and the prices go up, because of the temporary shortage," Smith said. "But we don’t really have a shortage, it’s just a delay, then people are stuck with a lot of toilet paper and pay too much for it, so let things settle in for a moment and then see what happens.”
Earlier this week, Governor Youngkin sent this letter to the White House, calling for the Biden-Harris administration to step in.
According to the letter, in Fiscal Year 2022, the Port exported over $7 billion of Virginia-made goods. The Port was said to have handled about $66 billion in imports, with 60% of those imports being sent outside of the Commonwealth.
In a press release, Youngkin suggested utilizing provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, a 1947 provision that allows President Biden to see a court order for an 80-day "cooling off" period for resolve.
Smith said the provision is disliked among labor unions, and, according to national news outlets, President Biden does not intend to intervene just yet.
"I don't think that either party has it right, I think there's a middle ground in between there that maybe we can find a better solution," Smith said, saying he understands both sides of the aisle. "There's a middle ground in there somewhere which is where I'm hopeful is where the government can kind of just bring people to the table so they have the negotiations required to make this a fair deal."
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