News / East coast port strike threat grows – and Canadian rail dispute still lingers

There will be no rest for North American shippers as one strike ends, because another threatens to “increase delays and drive up costs”.  

On Friday, east coast port employers the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) said that, along with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), it had filed a ‘notice to mediation agencies’ with the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS).  

This is to inform the FMCS of a dispute between the parties and does not represent an agreement for mediation.  

Indeed, the USMX “has still been unable to secure a meeting with the ILA to resume negotiations on a new master contract”. 

But it said: “USMX continues to meet with its members in preparation for the resumption of negotiations, and it remains committed to working with the ILA leadership on a new agreement.” 

On Wednesday and Thursday this week, the ILA will hold ‘wage scale meetings’ in New Jersey for the union’s wage scale delegates to review master contract demands.  

The ILA urged that it would also use the meetings “to establish strike committees from Maine to Texas to be ready for 1 October”. 

 John Lash, group VP of product strategy at supply chain platform e2open, told The Loadstar that, while a potential strike “is bound to increase delays and drive up costs”, there would be “winners and losers”.  

He added: “On the sharp end of the stick are shippers that will pay more to move their goods through more distant ports. The winners are likely to be carriers, with longer moves and higher rates for cargo in/out of the east coast, and a tightening of general capacity, which can lead to rate hikes for all lanes.” 

The current six-year agreement between USMX and the ILA covers some 25,000 port workers employed in container and ro-ro operations at ports on the US east and Gulf coasts, and expires on 30 September. 

Meanwhile, North American shippers were relieved when rail services resumed in Canada less than a day after the lock-out and strike involving 9,300 workers commenced on 22 August.  

This was due to direction from the labour minister to the Canada Industrial Relations Board that enforced binding arbitration between the union and employers. 

However, the TCRC union revealed on Friday that in four separate filings to the Federal Court of Appeal, it had challenged this decision – indicating that the rail strike saga may not be over just yet.  

TCRC president Paul Boucher said: “These decisions, if left unchallenged, set a dangerous precedent where a single politician can bust a union at will. The right to collectively bargain is a constitutional guarantee. Without it, unions lose leverage to negotiate better wages and safer working conditions for all Canadians.  

“We are confident that the law is on our side, and that workers will have their voices heard,” he added.