A massive strike by thousands of shipping workers is looming, threatening East Coast ports that handle billions of dollars’ worth of goods.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), North America’s largest maritime labor union, has announced plans to strike at all ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts on October 1 if a new contract agreement cannot be reached with the United States Maritime Union (USMX). The union is calling for higher wages and continued protections against automation and new technology at ports.
“If a new master contract is not reached, a sleeping giant is ready to roar on Tuesday, October 1, 2024,” ILA President Harold J. Daggett said in a statement Monday. “Our members have been preparing for a possible strike for more than a year now.”
Negotiations with the ILA began the last week of May, according to a USMX statement, with the union’s current six-year contract now due to expire in less than two weeks.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told NBC News that while it is not involved in the ILA-USMX negotiations, it is “closely monitoring developments and remains hopeful.”
“Our port supports more than 600,000 local jobs and $240 billion worth of cargo passes through it each year. We urge both sides to find common ground and keep cargo flowing for the good of the national economy,” Port Authority spokesman Steve Burns added in a statement.
The ILA alleges that USMX is denying workers a fair contract with adequate wage increases and adequate benefits.
“USMX claims to offer industry-leading wages, but their interpretation of ‘leading wages’ is diametrically opposed to ours,” the ILA said in a statement Monday.
“Our members struggle to pay their mortgages, rent, car payments, groceries, utilities, taxes and in some cases their children’s education. USMX’s corporate greed has made them delusional – putting profits over people. For 30 years they have taken advantage of low starting wages and sliding scale promotions,” the statement continued.
The union said its rank-and-file members would no longer accept contracts that included wage increases of less than $1. The ILA statement further asserts that over more than 30 years, ILA workers have only received an average annual wage increase of 2.02 percent, with some years seeing no wage increases at all.
USMX declined to comment on details of current or past contracts.
“USMX would rather leak our wage demands to the media than cover our member companies’ record $1 billion profits so I can say, ‘Yes, we are seeking significant wage increases,'” Daggett said in a statement.
According to a statement released by USMX on September 5, the current proposal to the union includes “industry-leading wage increases” and maintaining the existing technology language in the current contract, which the union claims already formalizes that fully automated terminals and semi-automated equipment will not be installed without the agreement of both parties. It also calls for higher starting wages, health insurance coverage, and increased employer retirement contributions.
Since the first negotiating meeting in late May, USMX has issued several statements indicating its commitment to negotiating with the ILA.
“While we have great respect for the ILA and its member countries, we are disappointed that we have reached a situation where the ILA is unwilling to resume dialogue unless all of its demands are met,” USMX said in its latest statement on Monday. “The only way to resolve this impasse is to resume negotiations, and we stand ready to do so at any time.”
But the ILA reiterates its claims that USMX’s statements are “propaganda” and “intended to mislead and divide” the union.
According to negotiation updates from USMX, the ILA has not returned to the bargaining table since mid-July. In all updates since July 18, USMX has maintained that the union is refusing to return to negotiations.
The ILA did not respond to a request for comment about USMX’s position that the union will not meet to resume negotiations.
The ILA and USMX have until Oct. 1 to agree to a new master contract when the current six-year agreement expires and before the ILA decides to strike.
