“A sleeping giant is ready to roar!” — International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold J. Daggett

This morning, at 12:01am, tens of thousands of longshore workers, from Maine to Texas, walked off the job. The shipping alliance, the United States Maritime Association (USMX), refused to meet the demands of the ILA, despite amassing massive profits during the pandemic. Union members currently top out at a $39/hour base wage amid rising inflation and a cost of living crisis while USMX rakes in hundreds of billions a year in profits. Meanwhile, USMX has threatened dockers’ jobs through the implementation of automation.

The strike is a direct result of corporate greed and the capitalist system. The bosses could have settled the deal yesterday, or even in the months prior to today. But their drive to secure maximum profits, corporate stock buybacks, and CEO bonuses puts their interests directly in conflict with the interests of the longshore workers and the working class as a whole. The working class needs an end to exploitation, better wages and working conditions, and more time with our families.

Longshore workers wield enormous power as a choke point in the global supply chain. The East and Gulf coasts boast five of the top 10 busiest ports in the U.S., with four located in the South. More than three-fifths of container shipments pass through these ports. A strike can cost shippers up to $5 billion per day, and it can take almost a week to clear out a one-day stoppage at any port.

The Communist Party USA expresses our full support and unwavering solidarity with the ILA union workers. We call on our members, friends, and allies to join the picket lines. We demand that the Biden Administration maintain their pledge to stay out of the dispute and not invoke the much hated, anti-worker Taft-Hartley law to force an injunction on the union.

Solidarity with the longshore workers! Stand up and fight back!

Image: ILA workers on strike by People’s Daily (Twitter)

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