ILA Strike

Port strike ends as workers agree to tentative deal on wages and contract extension

A major union for U.S. dockworkers and the United States Maritime Alliance agreed on Thursday to a tentative deal on wages and have extended their existing contract through Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.

The move ends a strike that had snarled East Coast and Gulf Coast ports since the beginning of the week and threatened U.S. supply of fruits, automobiles, and other goods.

“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues,” The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance said in a joint statement.

ILA strike: Biden declines to intervene, but pressures USMX

President Joe Biden and other administration officials are speaking up about the International Longshoremen’s Association’s ongoing strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.

Even before a strike began on Oct. 1, stakeholders urged government intervention to help the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, reach an agreement. The Biden administration, however, has been vocal about not intervening with negotiations via the Taft-Hartley Act, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a Sept. 30 press briefing. The federal law gives a president the power to intervene in a strike.

Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Su says employers “have refused” good faith offer to ILA

In the first day of the longshore strike that has shut down ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts, Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su criticized employers represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) who “have refused” to put forward a good faith proposal to the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) that might have avoided the current strike.

In an October 1st ‘Statement from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on negotiations between USMX, the International Longshoremen’s Association,’ the Acting Labor Secretary said: “As these companies make billions and their CEOs bring in millions of dollars in compensation per year, they have refused to put an offer on the table that reflects workers’ sacrifice and contributions to their employer’s profits.”

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas go on strike, a standoff risking new shortages

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.

The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike. The strike affecting 36 ports is the first by the union since 1977.

Workers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight, walking in a circle at a rail crossing outside the port and chanting “No work without a fair contract.”

ILA says it will move forward with strike on Tuesday

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has confirmed its plans to initiate a strike across all Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

The confirmation came in a statement issued on Sunday, September 29.“With 36 hours to go before the end of the ILA-USMX contract tomorrow evening, the 85,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, joined in solidarity by tens of thousands of dockworkers and maritime workers around the world, will hit the picket lines at 12:01 am on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 and strike at all Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas,” the statement said.

Industry Advisory: All FMC Statutes and Regulations Remain in Full Effect in the Event of Terminal Closures Related to Possible Work Stoppage

Regulated entities are reminded that all statutes and regulations administered by the Federal Maritime Commission remain in effect during any terminal closures related to potential work stoppage at ports in the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico regions.

The Commission is directing its Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations, and Compliance to investigate any reports of unlawful conduct of regulated entities. The FMC will prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law. 

Ports seek order to force dockworkers to bargaining table as strike looms at East and Gulf ports

With a strike deadline looming, the group representing East and Gulf Coast ports is asking a federal agency to make the Longshoremen’s union come to the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract.

The U.S. Maritime Alliance says it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the International Longshoremen’s Association is not bargaining in good faith.