With just weeks to go until a contract extension expires, a coalition of 267 trade associations has urged East and Gulf coast port employers and union longshore workers to resume negotiations to avert another strike disrupting ports accounting for nearly half of America’s maritime trade.
In a letter to International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett and David Adam, chairman and chief executive of the United States Maritime Alliance, the coalition led by the National Retail Federation said it was “imperative” for the sides to return to bargaining and remain there until agreement on a new labor pact is reached before Jan. 15, when the extension of the current contract expires.
“We know significant issues remain between the parties. However, we continue to believe the only way to resolve these issues and come to an agreement is to actually stay at the negotiating table,” the shippers said in the letter released to the media.
The ILA’s 45,000 dockers walked off the job at ports from Maine to Texas on Oct. 1 after failing to come to negotiate a new master contract with the USMX. They agreed to suspend three days of strike action after negotiating a 61.5 percent pay increase for dockworkers spread over six years.
“The additional costs from mitigation efforts as well as post-strike resumption are still being felt,” the NRF-led letter said. “Companies have continued to implement mitigation strategies because of the ongoing threat of another strike in mid-January if a new contract is not achieved.”
Co-signees of the letter included the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as representatives of other industries ranging from manufacturing to agriculture and logistics.
While the ILA’s tentative agreement has already been put in place for wages, the use of automation at the East and Gulf Coast ports – notably Virginia and NY/NJ – prompted the union to break off contract talks again. The union is seeking a total ban on technologies like semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs).
The letter acknowledged the disparity between the ILA and the USMX, but appeared to support the maritime alliance’s advances to better automate the ports.
“It is critical 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,” the letter said. “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.”
(ILA photo of docker rally)