Massachusetts businesses brace for possible port strike
BOSTON - The merchandise in Neal Wigetman's Allston furniture store does not arrive on the floor by magic. Every piece makes a journey inside a container on a cargo ship to a port in Boston, New York, or New Jersey, then to a supplier who trucks the pieces to the showroom at Basics Carpet and Furniture.
"It's all coming from overseas. None of it is made here anymore," said Wigetman who has owned the furniture story for over 40 years. "We deal with a mattress person, we deal with a sofa person, we'll deal with a five-drawer chest person."
Contract expires September 30
A looming strike by dockworkers threatens to disrupt not just Neal's supply chain but the U.S. economy. The contract for the International Longshoremen's Association, the union representing thousands of dock workers who unload cargo ships at ports up and down the East and Gulf Coasts, is set to expire September 30. ILA says its workers will begin striking on October 1 if its demands are not met by the United States Maritime Alliance. The union is asking for better wages and a full ban on automation at U.S. ports.
"If they keep putting machinery to take our jobs, who's going to pay the income tax. Machines are not," ILA President Harold Daggett said.
Supply chain disruptions
Wigetman says he has a full inventory and could weather the supply disruptions that could come with a short strike but not everyone is so lucky.
"Most places of business would be in trouble like a month and a half later," he said.
Jeremy Jamoulis, the CEO of local restaurant chain Cape Cod Cafe, says he is also preparing for the downstream impact of a strike. His restaurants receive Italian meats, cheeses, olive oils, olives, and paper products through various ports.
"If this goes on more than a couple weeks, we're going to have to start buying into things, the prices will go up," Jamoulis said.
In the event of a strike, Wigetman says he will still buy furniture to stock up his store.
"You can't run a business with fear. You have to just go with the flow and keep on going," he said.
