News / Maritime Union of Australia voices support for US dockworkers 'at war'

Image: ILA

National secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Paddy Crumlin, who is also international president of the International Transport Workers Federation, has broadcast his support for the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) in its “war” against the US Maritime Alliance (USMX).

In a letter to ILA president Harold Daggett yesterday, Mr Crumlin said: “The automation agenda being pushed by USMX is a brazen union-busting exercise which will fatten corporate profits while destroying the livelihoods of tens of thousands of maritime workers and their families throughout the globe.

“We are in absolute lockstep with the ILA in this struggle against USMX… which is seeking to wage industrial war on dockers and seafarers throughout the globe” he added.

While having little impact on the dispute covering the US east and Gulf coast ports, Mr Crumlin’s words could be seen as a foundation for Mr Daggett’s radical threat of creating a global ‘mega union’ once the spat between the ILA and USMX is resolved.

“I’m going to form an alliance with every working union in the world,” he declared in September. “We’re going to get all the unions around the world to meet in Portugal; we’re going to get the IDC [International Dockworkers’ Council] and I’m going to ask the seamen who run the all the ships to come.”

He added: “Take a company like Maersk – let’s say it wants to go into Chile and build a fully automated terminal. If that’s going to happen, this alliance will kick in and we will shut down Maersk [operations] throughout the world.”

The ILA and USMX did reach a tentative agreement on wages last month, after three days of strike action at the beginning of October, with ILA members set to receive a 62% salary increase. The parties agreed to extend the current master contract until 15 January and try to resolve remaining issues, which largely centre around automation.

But a little over a week ago, negotiations broke down, increasing the risk of fresh strike action in January.

In this week’s News in Brief Podcast, The Loadstar editor Gavin van Marle highlights that the new year deadline coincides with “a maelstrom” of pivotal circumstances that threaten to make Q1 25 an even more disruptive period for ocean shipping.

“You’re going to have probably an ILA strike on the 15th, three working days after that Donald Trump is inaugurated as president, you then have Chinese New Year beginning five working days after that and then there’s the alliance reshuffle on 1 February,” he explained.

“At least four major industry-specific and geopolitical things are coming together – and this is all on top of the Red Sea crisis,” adds Mr van Marle.