Union workers at nearly three dozen East and Gulf Coast ports voted last week to approve a strike starting October 1 if a new labor agreement is not reached with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), an employer group representing shipping companies.
Roughly 45,000 workers from the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are currently operating under a six-year agreement that expires on September 30. The union is at an impasse with USMX over various issues in the agreement, including wages, benefits, and automation policies.
As of now, the White House has not announced publicly that it has intervened in the talks.
ILA president Harold Daggett has made various public statements regarding the talks, including directly releasing a video in which he claimed, “We’re at an impasse … we are very far apart. The ILA most definitely will hit the streets on October 1 if we don’t get the kind of contract we deserve. … Mark my words, we’ll shut them down.”
As the two sides approach the current agreement’s deadline, cargo is being routed toward West Coast ports, which renegotiated their labor agreement with USMX in mid-2023. Reuters has also reported that imports of U.S. container cargo in August jumped 12.9 percent from a year ago, reflecting a surge to get products in through the East and Gulf Coast ports before a possible strike.
The West Coast ports negotiation also included issues such as the use of automation and healthcare benefits, but the most contentious issues were wages, pensions, and the length of the contract. The union representing West Coast port workers preferred a shorter, two-year contract, whereas USMX preferred continuing with a six-year deal.
ILA has not officially gone on strike since 1977.
