Earlier this week, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) communicated to its local groups covered by its Master Contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that its Wage Scale Committee Meetings are scheduled for September 4-5.
The ILA is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing workers at 36 ports from Maine to Texas. And the USMX is an alliance of container carriers, direct employers, and port associations serving United States-based East and Gulf Coasts.
The current six-year labor deal between the parties was completed in September 2018 and covers roughly 14,500 U.S. East and Gulf Coast port workers. ILA said at the time of the deal’s completion that this six-year contract extension will bring generous pay increases, landmark protections against job-killing fully automated ports, and labor peace and stability through September 30, 2024.
As previously reported byLM, on June 10, one day before talks were scheduled to take place between the ILA and USMX, the ILA announced it had suspended talks, at a time when negotiations of local agreements under the parties’ coast-wide Master Contract were ongoing.
ILA explained that the objective of its meeting next month is for its ILA Wage Scale Delegates to “review demands ILA makes to USMX.” ILA President Harold J. Daggett said that this meeting also equips it to prepare for a potential coast-wide strike, should an agreement not be reached by the September 30 deadline.
“We are meeting to discuss our ILA demands with our ILA Wage Scale Committee delegates for the next contract we sign with USMX,” said Daggett. “But with less than 30 days to go before the end of our current Master Contract when these meetings are held, we must prepare our locals and our ILA membership for a strike on October 1, 2024. Two generations of ILA members have come into the industry since our last strike in 1977—more than four and a half decades ago.”
At the upcoming September meetings, ILA said that it will be presenting the ILA’s final contract demands to its Wage Scale delegates. The union plans to devote time to instruct local, adding that it plans to devote time to instruct locals on strike strategies and what to expect if the ILA is on strike at the beginning of October.
ILA officials explained that it cancelled Master Contract talks with the USMX on June 10, upon learning that APM Terminals and Maersk Line are using an Auto Gate system that autonomously processes trucks without ILA labor, adding that this system, which was initially identified at the Port of Mobile, Alabama, is also being used at other ports, too.
An ILA spokesman called this another example of USMX members unilaterally circumventing the coast-wide Master Contract, calling it a “clear violation” of the agreement.
ILA said it will not meet with USMX until the Auto Gate issue is resolved. And it said it is still waiting on results from an audit for jobs created out of new technology, adding that they have been waiting for it for nearly two contract periods. The ILA has observed an increasing number of IT personnel on marine terminals, with concerns that APM and Maersk’s IT departments in Charlotte, North Carolina, are encroaching on their jurisdiction, it added.
As for next steps, ILA indicated that given the various issues needing to be addressed between the parties, it has “very little faith” the issues will be addressed with time running short in advance of the current contract’s expiration date. And it also called on the White House to “recognize the threat posed by foreign-owned companies attempting to undermine American jobs,” too.
On July 12, ILA’s Daggett explained in a statement that the threat of a strike at all Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports is becoming more likely as time is growing short before the current contract expires in 80 days, adding that employers represented by the USMX are running out of time to negotiate a new Master Contract agreement and avoid a coastwide strike on October 1.
“We will not entertain any discussions about extending the current contract, nor are we interested in any help from outside agencies to interfere in our negotiations with USMX,” said Daggett. “This includes the Biden Administration and the Department of Labor.”
Not long after ILA made its comments, USMX officials said on July 18, it remains steadfast in its commitment to keep ongoing negotiations out of the press until bargaining is complete.
“We would like to reassure our customers and the public that there is forward movement toward resolution of the local issues that are currently being reported through the media,” it said. “To avoid any further disruption to the cargo flow and/or damage to our nation’s economy, USMX remains ready, willing, and able to return to the bargaining table with the ILA to resume Master Contract negotiations and to reach a new Master Contract agreement.”
In a letter written earlier this year to ILA President Harold Daggett and USMX President and CEO David Adam byNational Retail Federation (NRF)President and CEOMatthew Shay, Shay said it is critical that a new deal agreement is reached before the current one expires to provide supply chain stakeholders with the certainty they need for their operations.
And he also cited how with shippers evaluating alternative alternatives, or contingency plans, to address the Red Sea and Panama Canal issues, the potential for a coastwide disruption from labor negotiations could lead to retail shippers and other businesses shifting operations away from East and Gulf Coast ports. He added that timing is key in getting a deal done, with the contract’s expiration date in line with Peak Season, too.
That was echoed in an NRF statement provided toLMas well.
“NRF urges the ILA and USMX to immediately return to the bargaining table and continue negotiating a new labor contract before the current one expires in September,” it said. “It is critical that significant disruptions, including labor strikes, are avoided in order to minimize any negative economic impact. Retailers are now in peak shipping season and bringing in their back-to-school and holiday merchandise. Any disruption could affect these important selling seasons. We encourage the administration to work with the negotiating parties, as they have in other instances, to keep the parties at the table and quickly reach a final agreement.”
In the most recent edition of the Port Tracker report by the NRF and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates,NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said retailers are concerned by the possibility of a strike at ports on the East and Gulf coasts because contract talks have stalled.
“Many retailers have taken precautions, including earlier shipping and shifting cargo to West Coast ports,” he said. “We hope to see both sides resolve this issue before the current contract expires because retailers and the economy cannot afford to see a prolonged strike. This comes on top of ongoing disruption issues including the attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Vessel diversions have led to increased shipping times and costs and have led to equipment shortages and congestion in Asian ports.”
The report noted that while the contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance covering East Coast and Gulf Coastportsis set to expire on September 30, no progress has been made, with negotiations having broken down, coupled with ILA stating it will go on strike should a new contract not be reached by September 30. NRF said it has continued to urge the parties to return to the table to continue negotiations, with rising freight rates having prompted importers to ship earlier.
 - Shopify)