Longshoremen union and employer avert strike after reaching tentative agreement
Rep. Michael Lurie (R-Ohio) reacted to the tentative agreement with longshoremen, calling Tim Walz “dumb-headed” for his earlier Tiananmen claims. (Courtesy: CBS News)
The union representing about 45,000 U.S. longshoremen reached a tentative agreement with port employers Wednesday, averting strikes at East and Gulf ports later this month.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced in a joint statement that they have reached an agreement on a six-year basic contract. This will enable the latter to ratify the terms of the final contract.
“We are pleased to announce that ILA and USMX have reached a preliminary agreement on a new six-year ILA-USMX Master Agreement, subject to ratification, which will avoid a work stoppage on January 15, 2025. ”, the two sides said in a joint document. statement. “This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework to introduce technology that creates more jobs while modernizing East Coast and Gulf Coast ports to make them safer.” and create the capacity we need to be efficient and keep our supply chain strong.”
Details of the interim agreement will not be made public to allow the ILA general membership to review and approve the final document.
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BALTIMORE, MD – OCTOBER 1: The Port of Baltimore is considered a longshoreman, with the resignation of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on October 1, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. and longshoremen at 14 major ports on the East Coast. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“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 two sides added.
The two parties signed a tentative agreement in October giving workers a 62% pay rise over six years to end a three-day strike, but issues related to automation remained unresolved.
However, the two countries remained at an impasse over automation leading up to the latest round of negotiations. If no agreement is reached and a second strike occurs, the wage agreement that was agreed in principle to end the first strike will be taken off the table and both sides will be back to square one.
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 2: Container ships are anchored in New York Harbor awaiting the reopening of the Port of Newark after members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began getting off work at 12pm yesterday. 12:00 AM (Photo by Spencer Pratt/Getty Images/Getty Images)
President Biden praised the agreement Wednesday night.
“Collective bargaining plays an important role in building a strong economy from the middle to the bottom,” he said. “Today’s tentative agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the American Maritime Alliance shows that labor and management can come together to benefit workers and their employers.”
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“I commend the longshoremen union for securing a strong contract,” Biden continued. “Their members kept our ports open during the pandemic and we worked together to undo the disruption in global supply chains. Thank you to the port operator.”
FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.
