PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Rather than clocking in, dockworkers at the Port of Virginia spent their day on the picket line instead of bringing in cargo. It's part of a strike over wages and automation at ports across the East and Gulf coasts.
Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday, although some progress had been reported in the latest contract talks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight.
Representatives with the International Longshoremen's Association said they are striking for the sake of their families.
"We are not trying to hold up everything, we are not trying to stop anything, but just like anyone else and other companies we have a right to protest, and now that our contract has expired, that is our decision," said Derrick Perry, with ILA.
Dockworkers in Norfolk wore orange shirts in solidarity, held picket signs, and chanted slogans such as "ILA, all the way."
Union representatives said on Tuesday they wanted a 50% pay raise across the next six years, and a promise to ban automation.
Thomas Fellows, a workforce specialist, said recent inflation exasperated some of the frustrations workers felt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"They haven't had an increase in pay since 2018 and this is the biggest strike we've seen of this nature since 1977," Fellows said.
Workers echoed that sentiment and told 13News Now they watched firsthand how shipping companies made billions during the pandemic. However, they said very little went toward those on the docks.
"We sacrificed during that time, we lost people in order to keep the ports open," said Perry. "Now we want the wages we are owed from keeping the economy afloat."
In a statement Tuesday, the union said it rejected the alliance’s latest proposal because it “fell far short of what ILA rank-and-file members are demanding in wages and protections against automation.”
The two sides had not held formal negotiations since June.