With just weeks to go until a contract extension runs out, a coalition of shippers is urging East and Gulf coast port employers and union longshore workers to resume negotiations to avert another port strike.
In a letter to International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett and David Adam, chairman and chief executive of the United States Maritime Alliance, a coalition of 267 trade associations led by the National Retail Federation said it was “imperative” for the sides to return to bargaining and remain there until agreement on a new labor pact is reached before Jan. 15, when the extension of the current contract expires.
“We know significant issues remain between the parties. However, we continue to believe the only way to resolve these issues and come to an agreement is to actually stay at the negotiating table,” the shippers said in the letter released to the media.
Terminal operators and ocean lines represented by USMX and the ILA agreed to the extension after Biden administration officials helped end a three-day strike by the union in early October that halted container and vehicle handling at 36 East and Gulf coast ports. The union at that time quickly agreed to a 62% pay hike over the six years of a new master contract covering 45,000 dockworkers while negotiations resumed over other issues, most notably port automation.
But talks broke down Nov. 13 over employer demands to bring in semiautomated container cranes the union said would eliminate member jobs. The USMX rebuffed the accusations, saying the cranes were desperately needed to make U.S. container hubs more competitive. It added the cranes would improve efficiency and create union jobs needed to handle more containers moving through ports.
“We understand that automation and technology continues to be the biggest issue of disagreement between the parties,” the shippers said. “We continue to believe there is a path forward for the parties to address this issue. It is critical that our ports and terminals have the ability to modernize their systems and processes in order to remain globally competitive and be able to handle the continuing rise of trade volumes, both imports and exports, through our ports.”
The shippers said port modernization was dependent on a “true partnership between labor and management,” adding the intermittent negotiations were causing “uncertainty” in the global supply chain.
The shippers said they were still dealing with additional costs from the three-day strike in October.
The USMX and ILA did not immediately return emails seeking comment.
“Companies have continued to implement mitigation strategies because of the ongoing threat of another strike in mid-January if a new contract is not achieved,” they said.
In a release accompanying the letter, the NRF noted that the contract extension ends just prior to the transition to a second Trump administration — a not-so-veiled warning that Trump may act more forcefully in the event of a strike than did President Joe Biden.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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