Attempts to reach an agreement on a new six-year contract between workers at 36 ports from Maine to Texas and container carriers came to a halt Tuesday afternoon when the union rejected the shipping companies' request for automation to become part of operations.
The International Longshoremen’s Association broke off talks with United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) after the employer group continued pushing automation and semi-automation language in its master contract proposals. The union said USMX's proposal would eliminate union jobs.
In early October, following a three-day strike at ports on the East and Gulf coasts the ILA and USMX reached a tentative agreement on wages, and extending the master contract until Jan. 15, 2025. The tentative agreement would raise union workers wages by about 62% over the life of the contract.
The two sides were scheduled to meet for four days this week in New Jersey to work out agreements on all remaining items for a new six-year master contract agreement.
As they gathered in Teaneck, New Jersey this week, the union said USMX introduced language in their proposal for semi-automated equipment to be used at ILA ports. The union it rejected it, saying it would eliminate union jobs.
“The ILA’s resolve remains strong not to surrender any ILA jobs,” the union said in its statement on Facebook. “We are disappointed that USMX would attempt to disregard our ILA’s well-known position opposing job-cutting automation and semi-automation. Once again, our employers who are raking in billion-dollar profits annually have exposed their ultimate goal of wanting to eliminate as many ILA jobs as possible, and replace our ILA longshore workers with robotic equipment.”
The ILA said that the union’s rank-and-file members fully support this position and that the three-day strike in early October should serve as proof how much they will sacrifice to fight for a fair and decent contract.
The ILA said it remains hopeful that USMX will alter what the union called an "unwinnable strategy" and resume negotiations as soon as possible.
In a statement today, USMX said, "While we had positive progress on a number of issues, we were unable to make significant progress on our discussions that focused on a range of technology issues. Unfortunately, the ILA is insisting on an agreement that would move our industry backward by restricting future use of technology that has existed in some of our ports for nearly two decades – making it impossible to evolve to meet the nation’s future supply chain demands.
"The USMX has been clear that we are not seeking technology that would eliminate jobs. What we need is continued modernization that is essential to improve worker safety, increase efficiency in a way that protects and grows jobs, keeps supply chains strong, and increases capacity that will financially benefit American businesses and workers alike.
"We look forward to resuming negotiations with the ILA.”
The three-day strike in October at U.S. ports caused problems for the nation's supply chain, including trucking companies and truckers. The American Trucking Association and other trade groups called on President Joe Biden to intervene and call for an 80-day cooling-off period. The president was criticized when he did not act to end the strike.
Meanwhile, strikes at ports in Canada have snarled supply chain activity between that country and the U.S.
Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon on Tuesday invoked federal powers to end work stoppages at the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Montreal, ordering binding and final arbitration between labor unions and ports' ownership. Existing collective agreements will remain in place pending a new deal being reached between dockworker unions and the ports.
