NY- NJ Port Terminals hit by ILA Walkout

Container terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey were idled Friday morning when International Longshoremen’s Association workers walked off the job. The walkout began about 10am, and reportedly affected all port terminals. Trucking company dispatchers advised drivers to avoid joining queues outside terminal gates. There was no official confirmation of the cause of the walkout. However, multiple sources said it was due to ILA unhappiness with hiring rules of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, which oversees port hiring. The ILA walkout came as New York-New Jersey terminals were struggling to catch up after a four-day weekend shutdown from Winter Storm Jonas, and a three- day holiday the previous weekend for the Martin Luther King Day observance.