MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Tens of thousands of dockworkers along the East and Gulf coasts walked off the job at midnight. The strike spans ports from Boston to Houston, and it is threatening to jam supply chains and disrupt the U.S. economy. Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Newsroom is at one of those ports in Mobile, Ala. He joins us from the picket line. Hey, Stephan.
STEPHAN BISAHA, BYLINE: Hey. Thanks for having me.
KELLY: Hey. Glad to have you with us. OK, tell me what you see, what it sounds like, what's happening there in Mobile.
BISAHA: Yeah. On the road leading up to this picket line, there's all sorts of different workers out with different signs saying things like, automation hurts families, no work without a contract. And as you come down the road and see the port, which is really kind of this pride of Alabama, a lot of the workers there are kept on one side of these railroad tracks, away from the port. And for a while, they were pretty mad about that 'cause there was a train blocking them from even being able to see the port. They believe that was a deliberate action by the companies or someone. Now that train's been moved, and spirits are much higher, and, you know, barbecue starting to go around.
KELLY: And I'm sure you're working your way up and down this picket line.
BISAHA: Yeah.
KELLY: What are workers telling you about why they are there, why they are striking?
BISAHA: Yeah. Well, workers, they actually have pretty high pay. It starts at $20 per hour. It goes up to 39. And these are some of the best paid blue collar jobs in Alabama, I mean, even beating out the auto industry here, which, normally in Alabama, like, that's like the measuring stick for a good job. But local union president Mark Bass, he was telling me that they deserve more because of the tough conditions and long working hours.
MARK BASS: We miss birthdays with our kids. We miss anniversaries. We miss church functions. We miss the normal sports games. We miss all these things trying to accommodate the flow of the economy, where goods are flowing in and out of the country.
BISAHA: And the U.S. Maritime Alliance - and that's a group representing the port operators and shipping companies - has offered a nearly 50% wage increase over the next six years. But the union says even that is not enough. It wants a 77% wage increase.
KELLY: Seventy-seven percent - OK. Go on.
BISAHA: Yeah. They're demanding a lot here. And the other big sticking point beyond the wages is actually technology. It's automation. And we're not talking about, like, AI, but things like robotics for crane operating, tech to make it easier for trucks to go in and out of the port faster. The union's afraid that's going to lead to job losses, these really high paying jobs, and they're demanding no automation at all.
KELLY: I mentioned that this could disrupt the overall U.S. economy. How so? Tell us what that might look like.
BISAHA: Well, when it comes to Alabama, the port here, it's huge. I mean, the state's port authority says 1 out of 7 jobs in Alabama is supported at least indirectly by this port. And to look at it nationally, The Conference Board, which is this business-backed research organization, predicts just a one weeklong strike could cost the U.S. economy more than $3.5 billion.
And again, it's not just about the value of what's being imported. Like, I met a trucker yesterday who started his own trucking business because of the work he got from this port. He's been able to take other jobs for now, but if this strike goes longer than a week, it could cause a lot of hurt both for him and the wider U.S. economy.
KELLY: And then paint me a little bit of a smaller picture. Just - I'm thinking, if the economy gets disrupted, if supply chains get jammed, are we looking at, I don't know, empty store shelves?
BISAHA: Yeah. Well, I've seen a lot of panicked Facebook posts about that from shoppers, but, you know, for now, not need to panic yet (ph). Store shelves should be OK for a while, especially when we're talking about things like food, medicine, fuel. We've known about the strike possibly happening for months, so shippers were advised to get a lot of stuff in or out ahead of the strike.
And again, the strike is not affecting everything. The West Coast ports are not part of this strike, and there are even exceptions at ports like this one in Alabama, where again, auto industry is huge. Assembled cars can actually still be shipped out because, like, the workers here are not part of that negotiation. But the parts needed to make some of those cars, that comes from terminals like this one shut down in front of me. And if the strike goes on for a while, a backlog could definitely be felt.
KELLY: Stephan, just a few seconds left, but what's it going to take to end this?
BISAHA: One of the sides caving - but really, the Biden administration could legally force a strike. President Joe Biden said today he's - that's not going to happen. It's up to the companies to come to the table, and he wants them to bring - he wants the company specifically to present a fair offer and do it quickly.
KELLY: Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Newsroom there on the picket line in Mobile, Ala. Thank you, Stephan.
BISAHA: Yeah, thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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