FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage following early results from the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo/File Photo
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is crediting President-elect Donald Trump with helping to secure a landmark six-year master contract agreement with the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), averting a potential shutdown of East and Gulf Coast ports.
The breakthrough came after a crucial intervention by President-Elect Donald Trump during a December 12th meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
ILA President Harold J. Daggett, accompanied by Executive Vice President Dennis A. Daggett, met with Trump for two hours to discuss the negotiation impasse with USMX. During that meeting, Trump reportedly directly contacted USMX officials and later took to Truth Social to publicly back the union’s position.
The agreement, which protects the jobs of 85,000 ILA members, addresses one of the maritime industry’s most contentious issues: automation. While specific terms of the agreement remain confidential pending ratification by both ILA rank-and-file members and USMX stakeholders, the two sides said the new contract “establishes a framework for implementing technologies” while safeguarding existing ILA positions.
“The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm it causes for American Workers,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, criticizing the push for automation. “Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets. They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt”.
The agreement prevents what would have been a devastating coast-wide strike at ports from Maine to Texas, scheduled for January 15th.
ILA President Daggett hailed the new agreement as a victory for organized labor, crediting Trump’s intervention as the decisive factor in securing worker protections. “President Trump gets full credit for our successful tentative Master Contract agreement,” Daggett stated, characterizing Trump as “one of the greatest friends of Organized Labor.”
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