15 July (Lloyd's List) - A STRIKE on the US east and Gulf coast ports in the fall is becoming increasingly likely, International Longshoremen’s Association president and chief negotiator Harold Daggett warned on Friday.
The ILA’s contract expires on September 30, and negotiations with the employers’ association, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), have recently hit a snag, raising fears of a catastrophic strike just a month before the US presidential elections.
“Only 80 days remain before the end of our current contract and we are waiting on USMX,” Daggett said in a statement.
“The actions of violating our current Master Contract by some of their members caused us to cancel scheduled negotiations with USMX in early June.”
The union, which represents 85,000 workers in the east and Gulf coasts, Puerto Rico, Great Lakes, and major US rivers, broke off talks in May, saying it discovered that Maersk’s APM Terminals was using an “Auto Gate” system that autonomously processes trucks without labour in the port of Mobile, Alabama. It said the system has since “reportedly” been observed in other ports as well.
The union said it would not resume talks until the “Auto Gate” issue is resolved and rejected any mediation by the federal government, which was key in resolving the west coast labour dispute in June of last year. Daggett reportedly criticised the west coast labour contract as inadequate.
“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,” Daggett said. “This includes the Biden Administration and the Department of Labor.”
The union added that it expects USMX to recognise the ILA’s work during the pandemic, “when ports remained open, allowing companies to record billion-dollar profits”.
The ILA has not gone on strike since 1977, and employer-labour relations on the east and Gulf coasts are believed to be better than in the west, but the signs are becoming increasingly ominous.
The termination of talks in June was a sharp reversal after the sides issued a joint statement on May 13, saying the expect to reach a six-year agreement without and disruption of delays.
Daggett said during the ILA’s convention last summer that there would be no extension of the contract should negotiations go down to the wire.
He reiterated on Friday that the union’s membership was “100%” behind him were willing to “hit the streets” on October 1 if their demands were not met.
