Coast-wide mediation talks resumed between the United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association in the hopes of averting a strike at 14 container ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, after a breakdown in the talks last week. The latest contract extension is set to expire on February 6. The contract originally was set to expire last September 30 but has been extended twice
“The United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association conducted negotiations during the three day period January 15-17, 2013. In these negotiations the parties made progress and have agreed that the negotiations will continue under our auspices,” Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George H. Cohen said in a statement today. “Due to the sensitivity of these negotiations, we will have no further comment at this time.”
No dates or locations were released for the next negotiations, but bargaining is expected to resume next week on local contracts between the ILA and the New York Shipping Association and other local employer groups. It is expected that negotiations on the coast-wide master contract issues will occur during the week of January 27-February 2.
