Teaneck, NJ — The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on Thursday appointed local vice presidents to head committees that will coordinate labor actions at East and Gulf coast ports if a new contract isn’t reached by the end of the month. Union leadership the day prior warned the ILA and its employers are “very, very far apart” on “economic” terms, namely wages, as well as automation.
The 13 committees are part of a strike mobilization plan outlined during a two-day meeting in Teaneck, NJ, where local union officials threw their support behind the union’s executive leadership negotiating stance against maritime employers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).
In a video message posted on YouTube Wednesday, ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett said the union and employers are “at an impasse.” As of Thursday, no bargaining talks have been scheduled between the ILA and USMX, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
“We can’t even get past the economics of a new contract,” Dennis Daggett said. “We are very, very far apart. Our members showed the world just how valuable our work is during the pandemic, and the carriers and terminals came out of that time with record profits, and they don’t want to share that with our members.”
Wages are a key sticking point in the current contract talks. The ILA is reportedly looking for a 78% increase in its top wage rate, or a $5 per hour increase each year over the contract’s six-year term. The USMX, which represents terminal operators and ocean carriers in ILA contract negotiations, is said to be offering an increase of about half of that, approximately 40%. During the previous two agreements, the ILA secured a $1 per hour wage increase each year.
“Sisters and brothers, it will be monumental if we are without a new master contract to replace the current one that expires in three weeks and four days,” ILA President Harold Daggett said in prepared remarks to the meeting. “We must be prepared if we have to hit the streets on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.”
Details please refer to JOC news.
Source:
Angell, M. (2024, September 5). ILA locals prepping for coordinated strike at US East, Gulf Coast Ports. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/ila-locals-prepping-for-coordinated-strike-at-us-east-gulf-coast-ports-5721164