Striking US longshoremen say decisively: 'This is for our future generations' | US unions

A parade of tractors without trailers paraded through the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal Wednesday morning to the applause of picketers, honking loudly.

Tens of thousands of longshoremen walked off their jobs at dozens of ports on the East and Gulf Coasts earlier this week. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirms that most operations have been suspended as a result of the strike.

On the picket lines in Elizabeth, New Jersey – one of the largest container ports in the US – strikers have been ordered to man the picket lines 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) reach an agreement.

“When a monsoon comes, we stay outside because we are used to working in a monsoon,” said a striker. The warm October sun was shining – at least for now.

At the heart of the dispute are disagreements over pay and the automation of machines.

Joe Mosquera, a crane operator and union organizer with ILA Local 1235, said the goals are clear. “Through the campaign we get a fair contract and can get back to work getting people the goods they need,” he said. “This is for our future generations. If we keep automation away, we will secure our jobs for the future. And when something is automated, We want to make sure there’s a worker to support it.”

The ILA has not had a new contract for six years. “We honored our last contract,” Mosquera said. “even through Covid, when we had to work double or triple. We never closed so everyone could get their goods. We didn't ask for a raise. We didn’t try to apply pressure when we could because we honored our agreement.”

Mosquera, 47, is a third-generation dock worker in his family. His grandfather was hired in 1954 and he hoped his family would continue to work at the port for generations to come. “I hope it stays that way, yes,” he said.

Iwona Purwin, an inventory controller who has worked at the port since 1998, said she had been out all night and that the strikers would “stay as long as necessary.” “I would like to see no automation at all and for the American people to keep their jobs.”

The port authority is “trying to take our jobs,” Purwin said. “I am a single mother of three children. How would I provide for my family if I didn’t work?”

Purwin, 46, drives an hour from central New Jersey to work every day and described what it's been like for her shouldered increases in “gas prices, tolls, and everything else.” We don’t get paid for any of it. We didn't get a raise because of inflation or any other reasons. We were essential workers. We worked through Covid. And we didn’t ask for anything.”

The union members' demands were formulated incorrectly, she said. “They don’t understand how much we work and the sacrifices we make for our families. It's not a nine-to-five job. It’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so we’re often here more often than we are with our families.”

Questions have been raised about the possible impact of the strike Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Mosquera expressed the hope that a deathl will come sooner. “I’m a father and a husband, I worry about everything,” he said. “I hope it doesn't last that long. We demand a fair contract, so we can get back to work.”