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Port workers strike could impact Central Alabama, goods stuck in Mobile may come through Birmingport
SALAS. JOINING US NOW, WVTM13’S ERIN LLEWELLYN. ERIN, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY HERE IN CENTRAL ALABAMA? YEAH. GUY BRITTANY STAFF HERE AT BIRMINGHAM PORTE SAY THAT THEY ARE NOT LONGSHOREMEN. SO THE STRIKE DOESN’T REALLY AFFECT THEM JUST YET. BUT AS THAT STRIKE CONTINUES IN MOBILE, SOME OF THOSE SUPPLIES THAT ARE STUCK IN THAT PORT, THERE COULD COME UP THROUGH CENTRAL ALABAMA. TUESDAY MARKS THE FIRST DAY OF THE DOCK WORKER STRIKE. IT AFFECTS 36 U.S. PORTS, INCLUDING MOBILE. BUT IT’S NOT JUST THE PORTS THAT COULD BE AFFECTED. IT’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF TRUCKS. PARC. I TALKED TO A TRUCK DRIVER WHO DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE US HIS NAME. HE STOPPED IN BIRMINGHAM OVERNIGHT, AND HE BELIEVES THE STRIKE COULD LEAD TO FEWER ELECTRONICS COMING FROM CHINA, KOREA AND JAPAN AND STORES GOING TO REALLY MESS THEM UP BECAUSE THEY CAN’T GET THE LOANS OFF, THE CARGO OFF THE CARGO SHIPS, OR THEY CAN’T GET THE LOANS OUT OF THE CONTAINERS TO GET INTO THE TRUCKS, TO MOVE THEM TO THE STORES. EVEN THOUGH HE HASN’T BEEN IMPACTED YET, HE BELIEVES IT COULD COME LATER IF GROCERIES BECOME MORE LIMITED IN SUPPLY. THERE ARE SOME GROCERIES THAT COME FROM ACROSS THE WATER. YOU KNOW, IMPORTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. A LOT OF LIKE IN NEW JERSEY. I THINK IT’S ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST PRODUCE PLANTS. I MEAN, THEIR PRODUCE PORTS. SO YEAH, IT’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF PRODUCE GOING TO BE AFFECTED BY IT. BUT NOT LIKE, I DON’T KNOW, THE GROCERY THAT’S MADE HERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE CAMPBELL SOUP THAT COULD DRIVE THE COST OF PRODUCE AND OTHER ITEMS UP. IF THAT HAPPENS. HE BELIEVES IT COULD AFFECT THE BOTTOM LINE FOR TRUCKERS AND RAIL YARD WORKERS. WHEN PRICES GO UP, OUR FREIGHT COSTS GO DOWN. NOW, I KNOW IT’S BACKWARDS, BUT THAT’S THE WAY IT IS. YOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING? I MEAN, AND THE FUEL WILL GO HIGHER, SO IT’LL BE LESS MONEY TO MAKE ON THE LOANS. NOW, THE MAN I TALKED TO TELLS ME THAT HE ALSO HAS A COUSIN WHO WORKS ON THE RAIL YARD IN ATLANTA. HE TELLS ME THAT IF THIS STRIKE LASTS TOO LONG, HE’S CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT COMES NEXT FOR HIS COUSIN. LI
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Port workers strike could impact Central Alabama, goods stuck in Mobile may come through Birmingport
On Tuesday, nearly 50,000 employees walked off the job in 36 ports along the Gulf and East coasts, including the Port of Mobile.Staff at the Birmingport told WVTM 13 they’re not longshoremen like the employees who are on strike. That means the strike won’t really affect them for now. Some of those supplies that could get stuck in Mobile could make their way up here to Central Alabama if they sit for too long.Economists said the longer the strike goes on the more effect it will have on inflation and the supply chain. This could affect things shoppers buy every day like groceries, produce and even some electronics. A trucker stopped in Birmingham overnight said that’s because with the employees on strike there’s no one to unload the ships in the ports and get the items on trucks to get them stores. He also said it’s not just the port workers who are being affected, though.“I have a cousin of mine who pulls out of the Atlanta rail yard, and he’s already trying to figure out what he’s going to do because if you can’t get the load off the port, he can’t roll,” the truck driver said. “Pretty much all I have to do now is family love. When he’s down, I help him out, and when I’m down, he helps me out. That’s how that goes with the trucking.”The strike started because the contract between the port workers union and the ports expired at midnight. Workers said they’re on strike demanding better pay to make up for inflation and lack of raises.
MULGA, Ala. —
On Tuesday, nearly 50,000 employees walked off the job in 36 ports along the Gulf and East coasts, including the Port of Mobile.
Staff at the Birmingport told WVTM 13 they’re not longshoremen like the employees who are on strike. That means the strike won’t really affect them for now. Some of those supplies that could get stuck in Mobile could make their way up here to Central Alabama if they sit for too long.
Economists said the longer the strike goes on the more effect it will have on inflation and the supply chain. This could affect things shoppers buy every day like groceries, produce and even some electronics. A trucker stopped in Birmingham overnight said that’s because with the employees on strike there’s no one to unload the ships in the ports and get the items on trucks to get them stores. He also said it’s not just the port workers who are being affected, though.
“I have a cousin of mine who pulls out of the Atlanta rail yard, and he’s already trying to figure out what he’s going to do because if you can’t get the load off the port, he can’t roll,” the truck driver said. “Pretty much all I have to do now is family love. When he’s down, I help him out, and when I’m down, he helps me out. That’s how that goes with the trucking.”
The strike started because the contract between the port workers union and the ports expired at midnight. Workers said they’re on strike demanding better pay to make up for inflation and lack of raises.
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