“Return to the bargaining table,” urged more than 270 federal, state, and local trade associations and government agencies in a Dec. 6 letter to U.S. East and Gulf Coast port employers, represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union. The Association of American Railroads, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, National Industrial Transportation League and American Chemistry Council were among the co-signers.
“It is imperative for the parties to resume negotiations and remain at the table until a new contract is reached,” the groups told ILA President Harold Daggett and USMX Chairman and CEO David Adam, calling on them to reach a new labor contract before the new Jan. 15, 2025, contract expiration date.
They pointed out that the three-day strike in October “had a significant impact on supply chain stakeholders that rely on the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports,” and the “additional costs from mitigation efforts as well as post-strike resumption are still being felt.” Companies have continued to implement mitigation strategies, they said, “because of the ongoing threat of another strike in mid-January if a new contract is not achieved.”
The groups acknowledged that ILA and USMX continue to be at odds over automation and the use of technology, but “[w] e continue to believe there is a path forward for the parties to address this issue.” It is “critical,” they said, “that our ports and terminals have the ability to modernize their systems and processes in order to remain globally competitive and be able to handle the continuing rise of trade volumes, both imports and exports, through our ports. Modernization can only happen through true partnership between labor and management, as well as the other supply chain stakeholders that rely on these ports. Modernization efforts will benefit all parties and are essential to address current and future throughput issues.”
Download the complete letter below:
Further Reading:
- Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes at Center of Port Labor Talks Impasse
- Port Strike Fears Grow as USMX and ILA Fail to Hammer Out Automation Issues
- Port strike: Tentative agreement sees ILA go back to work
- Port strike begins as ILA rejects last minute USMX offer
- ITS Logistics: Potential ILA Strike Fuels Peak-Season ‘Uncertainty’
- Port strike: No good news
- USMX seeks NLRB intervention as port strike looms
- VIDEO: ILA ramps up port strike rhetoric
- U.S. port strike fears stoked as ILWU pledges solidarity with ILA
