NYC Port Workers Walk Off Job, Halting Operations

The Red Hook Container Terminal. Photo by Dan DeLuca

NEW YORK CITY, NY — A work stoppage at Port of New York and New Jersey facilities Friday has taken a toll on daily operations, according to authorities.

The Port Authority of NY/NJ announced via social media that a labor action was taking place around 11 a.m., stating that truck operations were suspended due to “an apparent labor walk off at all port terminals.”

Port Authority officials provided an update soon afterward, stating that “due to the current work stoppage in the port, no new trucks will be allowed to queue on port roadways.”

The Port Authority of NY/NJ manages Port Newark, the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, the Red Hook Container Terminal and the Port Jersey Port Authority Marine Terminal.

According to the New York Times, the only port that remained operational Friday afternoon was the one in Red Hook. (Patch has reached out to the port to confirm.)

“As the agency that oversees the largest port complex on the East Coast, we strongly urge the [International Longshoremen’s Association] members to return to work immediately and resolve their differences after they return,” Port Authority administrators stated in a release at 12:43 p.m.

“In the meantime, Port Authority police are actively working to ensure public safety for all of the stakeholders at the port,” officials added.

The ILA, the union representing the workers, did not respond to Patch’s request for comment.

However, a union representative reportedly told 1010 WINS radio news that Friday’s walk-off came in response to hiring issues.

“The I.L.A. and the New York Shipping Association — our employers, it’s not just the workers, but also the owners of the companies that generate the jobs and generates money for the economy — both sides have been fighting the Waterfront Commission, especially in the last five years, over the right to bring new workers on, the right to operate their ports the way they think they should be operated,” Mr. McNamara reportedly said in the radio interview.

According to the Times:

People familiar with the operation of the port system said there had been brief work stoppages in the past but could not recall a similar mass walkout in recent years.

If the dispute continues for an extended period of time, its effects could be felt along the East Coast.

With additional reporting by Eric Kiefer