Americas News
Strike Shuts Baltimore Terminals
A strike launched Wednesday at the U.S. East Coast port of Baltimore has shut down all the port's public marine terminals and left ships unloaded, local newspaper the Baltimore Sun reports.
"Obviously it's not a good situation for the port, it's not a good situation for our port customers and it's obviously not a good situation for the men and women who work here," said Richard Scher, a spokesman for the Maryland Port Administration (MPA).
The strike began after members of the the port's largest International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union, Local 333, voted to reject a contract with the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore.
Other ILA locals have also stopped work to honour the picket line.
The closure has affected imports of cars from Mazda Motor Corp. and BMW, Bloomberg reports.
"We're in a situation right now where there are a lot of vehicles that are in short supply," said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at auto researcher Edmunds.com.
An update on the strike posted on the MPA website Thursday said that the work stoppage is continuing and arbitration between the two sides is scheduled for tomorrow.
