Uncertainty in the air in Canada as U.S. port shutdown looms

Canadian businesses and ports are bracing for the impacts of a possible dockworkers strike at U.S. East Coast ports early next week.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) have threatened to walk off the job on Oct. 1 and the trickle effects could cripple North American supply chains.

The ILA represents about 45,000 dockworkers at 36 seaports from Texas to Maine and will go on strike if they don’t reach an agreement on a new contract with their employer, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

Locally the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority says the biggest potential impact from this looming strike would be on Canada’s east coast ports and in Montreal — but workers there have just approved a strike mandate so there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air.

The Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority controls ports in the cities of Hamilton and Oshawa in the Golden Horseshoe region.

The U.S. Maritime Alliance filed an unfair labour practice charge saying that the union is not bargaining in good faith, and the ILA called the suit another “publicity stunt” by their employer.

Members say they’re looking for a 77 per cent increase in pay. Negotiations are ongoing.

If the longshoremen’s strike happens it would be the first of its kind in nearly 50 years and the second major strike this month in the U.S. with the ongoing disputes at Boeing.

Boeing and the Machinists union resumed contract negotiations on Friday, Sept. 27 — days after the company made a new offer that received a lukewarm response from striking workers.

READ MORE: Boeing factory workers go on strike, rejecting latest contract offer