Shipping and Logistics
Ports strike over as longshoremen reach tentative pact with employers
Written by Michael Cowden
October 3, 2024
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached a tentative agreement on wages on Thursday evening.
The move ends a strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports that began on Tuesday and that had threatened significant supply-chain disruptions.
“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,” ILA and USMX said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The union and USMX, which represents maritime employers, agreed on wages. They also agreed to extend the current contract until Jan. 15, 2025. The two sides said they would use that time to negotiate other outstanding issues.
USMX had offered a 50% wage increase over the life of a proposed six-year contract. The ILA wanted 77%. The two sides ultimately agreed to a 62% increase in hourly pay, according to media reports.
The other big sticking point is automation. The joint statement did not address that issue.
The strike had targeted container terminals and not the breakbulk facilities that handle the bulk of steel shipments. But parties across the steel and ferrous scrap supply chain could have been severely impacted if the strike had dragged on.
Michael Cowden
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