Longshoremen on the East Coast and Gulf Coast agreed to a tentative collective bargaining agreement with their employers Wednesday, averting a strike that could devastate the economy just days before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office. .
The longshoremen’s union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, and the employers’ bargaining group, the American Maritime Alliance, have overcome differences over a major impasse in negotiations to introduce automated cargo transport machines at ports.
“This agreement establishes a framework to introduce technology that will create more jobs while protecting ILA’s current jobs and modernizing its East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.” said in a joint statement Wednesday night.
Following a short strike in October by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, the Maritime Union announced that it would issue a deal on the condition that other parts of the collective agreement, including clauses on automation, be resolved by January 15. They agreed to raise wages by more than 60% over six years. .
The agreement is provisional, as the union has not yet voted to ratify it and Maritime Union member states must also sign it. Members of other unions have rejected collective bargaining agreements agreed to by leaders in recent months.
The International Longshoremen’s Association has resisted the introduction of automation at ports, arguing it would reduce jobs, a stance that won Mr. Trump’s support.
“I study automation, and I know pretty much everything there is to know about automation,” he said on his website, Truth Social, last month. “The money saved pales in comparison to the pain, injury, and harm it causes to American workers, in this case longshore workers.”
The employer believed automation could move containers more efficiently through the port and wanted more leeway in the new six-year contract to implement this technology. In the statement, the two sides did not say how they resolved their differences over automation.
“This is a win-win agreement that will create ILA jobs, support American consumers and businesses, and keep the U.S. economy an important hub for global markets,” the statement said.
A person briefed on the talks, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the International Longshoremen’s Association was assured that jobs would increase if automated equipment was added to ports. Employers have included language in contracts that provides an easier path to introducing automated machines, the person said.
The agreement would be a major relief for companies that import and export through the Eastern and Gulf ports, which handle about three-fifths of U.S. container traffic. Fearing a strike, some companies accelerated imports to arrive by next Wednesday and diverted some shipments through West Coast ports where workers belong to different unions.
Major ports in New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas receive a wide variety of goods, including automobiles, fresh produce, and pharmaceuticals.
In October, the International Longshoremen’s Union and the Maritime Union agreed to raise hourly wages from $39 to $63 by the end of the new contract. Due to shift work and overtime at some East Coast ports, salaries for many longshoremen can exceed well over $200,000 a year. (At the Ports of New York and New Jersey, nearly 60% of longshoremen earned between $100,000 and $200,000 in the 12 months ending in June 2020, according to data from an agency that helps oversee the ports.) )
Wages rose as President Biden pressured employers to offer more.
