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Seaport strike could spike NYC wine prices, leave produce rotting offshore, experts warn
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 30, 2024
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By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 30, 2024
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A looming longshoremen’s strike at seaports across the East Coast is slated to hammer New York City’s supply chains — and experts said the labor action could lead to a spike in wine prices, in addition to hundreds of tons of fruit going bad on ships stuck outside the harbor with no place to dock.
The strike would be the first of its kind in almost 50 years and would all but shut down freight operations at most of the maritime ports between Maine and the Gulf of Mexico. The International Longshoremen’s Association said thousands of port workers will walk off the job at midnight on Monday if the union doesn’t reach a new deal with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents shipping companies.
The stoppage could lead to economic losses of up to $5 billion a day nationwide, according to some analysts. The longshoreman’s union is demanding higher wages and greater job protections in the face of increased automation.
Officials said a phased shutdown of the Port of New York and New Jersey, which is the busiest seaport in the United States outside of California, would begin at 5 p.m. on Monday in anticipation of the walkout.
If the strike goes forward, 35 ships on the way to New York and New Jersey’s seaports would anchor offshore under the supervision of the U.S. Coast Guard, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said. Many of the stuck ships contain fine wine and spirits that end up in shops and restaurants across the city, along with fresh produce that risks going bad, according to industry experts.
“There's plenty of fruit on the water that’s going to be affected,” said John Acompora with E. Armata Fruit & Produce. “Everything on there is refrigerated at this point. But that only lasts so long because those refrigerator units run on fuel.”
“Lemons, oranges, clementines, mostly citrus at this time of year," Acompora continued. "Pineapples, bananas. Whatever comes in,”
Tommy Coperine, who works with the importer Frederick Wildman and Sons, said he’s been preparing for the strike’s disruption on the city's supply of wine and spirits.
“If it is a couple of days, it's probably not going to have a humongous impact, but at the same time, the longer it goes on, the more pain it's just gonna cause everyone,” he said.
Coperine noted that if the strike drags on, cheaper wines might be the first to disappear from shelves. “The entry-level products that get churned through the market … those could be the ones that you're starting to see gaps on the shelves,” he said.
Cotton from the Port Authority said he expected a strike at the docks.
“While we have encouraged both sides to reach an amicable agreement at the bargaining table, all signs are that there will be a strike,” he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers not to panic and said officials were working to prepare for the strike over recent weeks. Still, she said, there would be disruptions, particularly for shipments of cars and semiconductors.
“We’ve not had an event like this in our ports since 1977,” Hochul said, referencing a strike that lasted 12 days.
The impacts would be more severe the longer the strike goes on, according to Daraius Irani, an economist at Towson University in Maryland.
“If the strike does go through, it's going to have a tremendous impact on availability of some goods,” he said. “Many retailers have said that for every day there's a strike, there's a three to five day recovery.”
Hochul said emergency preparations for the strike were underway and consumers were unlikely to notice shortages of essential goods, provided that the strike doesn’t last too long. She said the supply of medications in New York City should not be affected because they primarily come to the city by airplane.
She also warned against panic buying at grocery stores.
“People do not need to rush out to the grocery store and stockpile goods like they did during the pandemic," said Hochul. "We do not want to see people reach that level of anxiety, because we are not there."
The United States Maritime Alliance on Thursday filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board to force the International Longshoremen’s Association back to the bargaining table. Representatives from the alliance did not immediately return requests for comment.
“The Ocean Carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject”, association spokesperson James McNamara said in a statement.
The union would not conduct one-on-one interviews with the press on Monday, the statement added.
President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he would not invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which would force the longshoreman back to work.
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Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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