As the holiday season approaches, American families are facing a new challenge — one that could disrupt their grocery shopping, holiday plans, and stretch already tight budgets. The cause? A massive dockworkers strike that has shut down more than a dozen of the largest ports across the Eastern U.S. This strike, involving 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), threatens to ignite another wave of food inflation, disrupt the holiday shopping season, and create shortages just as Americans prepare for Christmas.
The dockworkers, who walked off the job this week, are picketing at ports from Maine to Texas. The key sticking points in negotiations? Wages and the threat of automation. Once again, we are seeing unions flex their muscles, leveraging their position to hold the economy hostage and push their demands. And the result? American families and businesses will bear the brunt of these actions, with ripple effects felt across the nation.
The most immediate concern, according to experts, is the potential for disruptions at supermarkets. Supply chain analyst Larry Gross has warned that if the strike drags on, we could start seeing impacts at the grocery store within weeks. Basic items like avocados, bananas, and coffee—imported through the East Coast ports now on strike—may become harder to find, and, naturally, more expensive. Nearly four in five dates, figs, pineapples, and avocados come into the U.S. through these ports, while three-quarters of the bananas and 81% of the coffee Americans consume also pass through these vital entry points.
This strike, orchestrated by unions more focused on extracting concessions than on keeping America’s economic engine running, threatens to send food prices spiraling again. Families who are already struggling to deal with inflation and rising grocery bills may soon be looking at even higher prices for basic items.
It doesn’t stop at food. The strike could create shortages in toys, furniture, cars, alcohol, and even pharmaceuticals — just as millions of Americans begin their holiday shopping. Ryan Petersen, CEO of freight forwarder Flexport, has likened the potential damage of a prolonged strike to the disruptions we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. Petersen warned that even a one-week strike could create a backlog lasting up to six weeks, while a longer work stoppage could have “catastrophic” consequences for the supply chain.
Retailers and manufacturers have already been scrambling to prepare. Jay Foreman, CEO of toy manufacturer Basic Fun, which makes popular items like Tonka trucks and Care Bears, has taken preemptive action. Anticipating union-driven disruption, he redirected shipments from the East Coast to the West Coast months ago, even though it cost his company more. But not all businesses have been able to do the same. Those unable to reroute their shipments may face serious challenges getting products to stores in time for Christmas.
Adding to the mounting pressure, Maersk, the Denmark-based ocean carrier, announced plans to implement a local port disruption surcharge for cargo moving to and from East Coast and Gulf Coast terminals. This move reflects the growing desperation within the shipping industry as the strike drags on, and it’s only a matter of time before these costs are passed on to consumers.
The auto industry is also bracing for a hit. The Auto Care Association has estimated that the strike could cost the automotive aftermarket industry nearly $340 million per day in lost business. Bill Hanvey, president of the association, has warned that American drivers may face increased risks on the road if essential auto parts fail to reach repair shops in time.
In the middle of this chaos, one question must be asked: Why are we allowing unions to hold the entire country hostage? This isn’t about fair wages or better working conditions—this is about protecting the unions’ grip on power and resisting any efforts to modernize and make ports more efficient through automation.
Conservative principles prioritize economic freedom, competition, and minimizing the role of big labor. In contrast, union-driven strikes like this one, which force families to pay more for essential goods while choking off economic growth, are emblematic of why we must fight back against such power grabs. The Biden administration’s cozy relationship with big labor has only emboldened these unions, giving them a green light to disrupt American lives at will.
As we saw during the pandemic, excessive government regulation and bureaucratic interference can grind the economy to a halt. Now, it seems, labor unions are picking up where the government left off, creating artificial shortages and exacerbating inflation in the process.
In the face of this looming crisis, American businesses and families are doing what they can to prepare. But if the strike lasts too long, the economic damage could be catastrophic. Retailers are stocking up on goods in anticipation, but if port closures persist, there’s only so much they can do. The potential shortage of Christmas trees, for instance, could leave many families without one of the most cherished symbols of the holiday season. Chris Butler, CEO of the National Tree Company, warned that if the strike stretches into November, 150,000 trees could be stuck at sea — leaving retailers and consumers scrambling.
As the strike drags on, it becomes clear that this is about much more than wages and automation. It’s about whether we will allow unions to dictate the terms of America’s economy or if we will stand up for the free market and the principles of competition, innovation, and efficiency that have made our country great. The longer this strike continues, the more American families will suffer—something we simply cannot afford in these already challenging times.
