The COSCO Development calls at South Carolina Port Authority's Port of Charleston. Photo: SCPA
Port workers with the International Longshoremen’s Association, the largest maritime union in the United States, appear set to go on strike for the first time since 1977 after they were unable to reach a new Master Contract agreement with employers at U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coast ports.
In a last-ditch effort to avert the strike, port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced that both sides had exchanged wage-related offers in the final 24 hours of negotiations, providing a last minute glimmer of hope before the critical deadline.
The previous six-year contract, covering approximately 25,000 port workers across 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, expired at midnight on Monday with neither side announcing an agreement.
“The USMX increased our offer and has also requested an extension of the current contract, now that both sides have moved of their previous positions,” the USMX said in a statement issued late Monday afternoon before the contract’s expiration. “We are hopeful that this could allow us to fully resume collective bargaining around the other outstanding issues – in an effort to reach an agreement.”
The USMX’s new proposal included a nearly 50% wage increase, doubled employer contributions to retirement plans, and improved healthcare options. It also maintains “the current language around automation and semi-automation.”
Despite these efforts, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) was poised to initiate a widespread strike starting at 12:01 am Eastern on Tuesday after rejecting the USMX’s latest offer.
In a statement earlier on Monday, the ILA accused the USMX of continuing “to block the path toward a settlement” by refusing the ILA’s demands over wages and automation, and alleged the employers’ group seemed “intent on causing a strike” at all ports from Maine to Texas.
The ILA statement cited USMX’s refusal to meet demands for a “fair and decent contract” as the primary reason for the strike. It also reiterated its criticism of ocean carriers represented by USMX, stating, “They want to make their billion-dollar profits at United States ports, off the backs of American ILA longshore workers, and take those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates.”
The union also accused the ocean carriers of “gouging their customers,” pointing to a dramatic increase in container shipping costs. “They are now charging $30,000 for a full container, a whopping increase from $6,000 per container just a few weeks ago,” the ILA said.
Sources with knowledge of the negotiations told CNBC that the ILA rejected USMX’s offer of a nearly 50% wage increase and indicated it was the same proposal the ILA had earlier described as an “unacceptable wage package” in Monday morning’s statement.
The potential work stoppage threatens to worsen already strained ocean supply chains, which have faced significant disruptions in 2024 due to conflicts in the Red Sea, drought in the Panama Canal, and the Baltimore bridge collapse.
Despite the high stakes, the Biden administration has indicated that the president does not plan to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows presidential intervention in labor disputes that create a national emergency.
In a statement, Sean M. O’Brien, General President of the 1.3 million-member Teamsters Union, expressed full solidarity with the ILA in their fight for a fair contract and criticized the ocean carriers for failing to negotiate a contract that recognizes the workers’ value. O’Brien also strongly opposes government intervention in the labor dispute, asserting, “The U.S. government should stay the f**k out of this fight.”
“Don’t forget—Teamsters do not cross picket lines. The Teamsters Union is 100 percent committed to standing with our Longshoremen brothers and sisters until they win the contract they deserve,” he said.
The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO, on Monday expressed solidarity with the ILA, stating, “Rank-and-file ILA members have made many sacrifices, particularly in recent years, and they deserve a collective bargaining agreement that reflects their importance to our nation’s ports and to the U.S. economy.”
Read Next: East and Gulf Coast Ports Brace for Dockworker Strike as Midnight Deadline Approaches
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