Chamber of Commerce calls on Biden to stop dockworkers strike, citing inflation fears

By Chris Matthews

Labor stoppage could raise cost of electronics, cars and plastic products, economist says

Big business is upping the pressure on President Joe Biden to intervene in a dockworkers strike set to begin Tuesday that could shut down ports handling more than half of all U.S. trade and potentially lead to an increase in the cost of consumer goods.

The Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter to Biden Monday urging him to invoke a federal labor law that could delay the potential strike at East Coast and Gulf ports for as many as 80 days while workers and shipping companies continue to negotiate.

"Americans experienced the pain of delays and shortages of goods during the pandemic-era supply chain backlogs in 2021," the letter said. "It would be unconscionable to allow a contract dispute to inflict such a shock to our economy."

Biden said Sunday that he would not invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to delay the strike, saying that he didn't believe in the law and that the collective-bargaining process should play out. The current contract between the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance expires Monday.

Erin McLaughlin, a senior economist at the Conference Board, wrote in a Monday research report that the strike would "cost the U.S. economy $3.78 billion per week and increase the cost of consumer goods, putting pressure on inflation."

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McLaughlin said it is difficult to determine how a strike might affect the flow of goods into the U.S. because of the complex nature of freight movement, which involves shipping, rail and trucking businesses and different points in the distribution process.

She noted that container yards in California, which would not be affected by the strike, as well as inland hubs in the Memphis and Chicago areas "are already clogging up and triggering shortages of equipment needed to move containers," as companies attempt to get products to warehouses ahead of a strike.

Americans would likely see shortages and higher prices for electronic products, transportation equipment, automobiles and chemicals, including plastics, if there were a strike of significant duration, McLaughlin added.

Political analysts have argued that the strike and potential price increases could pose political problems for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, with the November election a little more than five weeks away.

The Biden-Harris administration has promoted itself as the most union-friendly in history and may be reluctant to intervene in a way that could blunt support from labor groups in the coming weeks, according to Andrew Lokay, an analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors.

"The longer a strike goes on, the higher the political cost for Harris," Lokay wrote in a Friday note to clients. "It's not out of the realm of possibility that the White House could ultimately change tack on Taft-Hartley if the strike is not resolved quickly."

-Chris Matthews

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09-30-24 1557ET

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