A wrench may have been thrown in the Federal Reserve’s inflation fight as thousands of Atlantic and Gulf Coast port workers are on strike.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union dock and maritime workers hit the picket lines at midnight on Oct. 1, shuttering ports from Maine to Texas. ILA officials rejected counteroffers from the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that would extend a nearly 50 percent wage increase, better health care and retirement benefits, and protections regarding automation and semi-automation. This prompted union’s first strike since 1977.
But while many anticipate the labor disruption to be short-lived, work stoppages will affect billions of dollars in daily trade volume, potentially serving as a threat to rekindle inflationary pressures across the U.S. economy….