Screenshot of live camera at Port Newark - North Ave Curve gate showing ILA members gathering at midnight
by John Konrad (gCaptain) Images from social media confirm that members of the International Longshoreman Association (ILA) Union are on strike and starting to gather at outside US ports from Texas to Maine.
“We are official out on strike, our contract ended at midnight,” Bernie ODonnell, international Vice President for ILA New England told reporters. “We plan on being here 24/7 until we get a good contract. We are looking for a fair contract and we are fighting automation.”
In a last-minute effort today to avert the strike, port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced that both sides have exchanged wage-related offers. However, reporting quickly indicated that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union had already rejected the offer.
The current contract, which covers approximately 45,000 port workers across 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts expired at midnight this morning.
“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. “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.”
In soldiarity with the ILA the powerful Teamsters Union issued a statement warning the Biden Adminsitration to “stay the f”*k out of this fight” (sic).
“The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, including our members in the freight industry, stand in full solidarity with the International Longshoremen’s Association,” said a statement the teamasters released via facebook. “The U.S. government should stay the f**k out of this fight and allow union workers to withhold their labor for the wages and benefits they have earned. Any workers—on the road, in the ports, in the air-should be able to fight for a better life free of government interference. Corporations for too long have been able to rely on political puppets to help them strip working people of their inherent leverage.”
The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO – which includes unions representing crewmembers aobard US flagged merchant ships – 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.”
ILA members began lining up at the picket lines three hours before the clock struck midnight at the front gate of the Port of New Jersey marine terminals. Alongside a photo of a large ILA banner, the union member, who goes by NJPIER on X, wrote, “The general public still isn’t taking the strike seriously.”
The Port of Virginia posted an update on its website announcing the start of a strike just after midnight. It stated, “Due to the expiration of the master agreement between United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), a work stoppage has begun at The Port of Virginia and other ports along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts.” Social media footage has also captured striking dockworkers marching to picket Boston’s Conley terminal moments after the deadline expired.
The USMX’s rejected last minute proposal this afternoon 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.”
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 “fair contract” demands as the strike’s main cause. It criticized ocean carriers represented by USMX, claiming they seek “billion-dollar profits” from U.S. ports at the expense of American workers, benefiting 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.
Supply chain professionals say this will cause shortages in everything from ripe bananas to critical medicine and manufacturing parts and J.P. Morgan estimates that a strike could cost the U.S. economy $5 billion a day.
Reuters has provided gCaptain with a timeline of the key events leading up to the strike.
May 13, 2024
The ILA and the USMX say they will begin bargaining after May 17 with the goal of forging a new deal before the current six-year contract expires on Sept. 30.
June 10, 2024
The ILA halts negotiations amid disputes related to automation, after discovering that operator APM’s terminals and container shipping company Maersk Line were using an Auto Gate system that processes trucks without labor.
June 11, 2024
The USMX says some issues will require further conversation between the local parties, adding that it looks forward to re-engage with the bargaining committee.
July 12, 2024
Harold Daggett, ILA’s president and chief negotiator, says the threat of an Oct. 1 strike is growing after the violation of its contract by some USMX members, which caused it to cancel negotiations earlier.
Aug. 23, 2024
The USMX says it has been unable to secure a meeting with the ILA to resume negotiations.
Sept. 5, 2024
Nearly 300 ILA delegates end their two-day wage scale meetings with unanimous support for President Daggett’s call for an Oct. 1 strike if an agreement is not reached.
Sept. 23, 2024
The ILA says it has held multiple conversations with the USMX in recent weeks and adds that a stalemate remains over wages, with the employer group continuing to offer “an unacceptable wage increase package.”
Sept. 24, 2024
The White House says it will not try to broker a deal between the two parties.
Sept. 25, 2024
Agriculture groups urge the White House to act to avert the potential strike.
Sept. 26, 2024
The USMX files an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board to bring ILA back to the bargaining table.
Sept. 29, 2024
President Joe Biden says he did not intend to intervene to prevent a port strike.
Sept. 30, 2024
The USMX says it raised its offer which would increase wages by nearly 50%, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans and strengthen USMX’s health care options.
USMX also requests an extension of the current master contract to continue bargaining.
Oct. 1, 2024
The ILA starts strike at ports up and down the U.S. East Coast.
Read Next: No Deal to Avert Major U.S. Port Strike as Deadline Passes
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